Food Fiend Experience - Christmas Apple Tart Tartin

To help you enjoy this festive season I have created this new recipe which is a great alternative to Christmas pudding or mince pies. It has no added sugar and all the sweetness comes from using eating apples for the filling along with sultanas, raisins apricots and flaked almonds. For a more decadent dessert add a couple of tablespoons of rum or brandy into the filling. Food Fiend Experience provides cookery courses for individuals and groups but also is a great venue for special celebrations with a culinary difference - birthday, retirement or hen/stag party, company get together! For more information go to: www.foodfiendexp.com

Ingredients

For pastry:

• 100g butter
• 200g plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 7 or 8 teaspoons cold water

For filling;

• 1 kg eating apples preferably gala or similar
• 50g sultanas
• 50g raisins
• 50g chopped apricots
• 25g flaked almonds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tbsp apricot jam

Method

1. Pre heat fan oven to 180ËšC.
2. Sift flour into the food processor add a pinch of salt. Cut butter into small cubes and gently stir into the flour. Pulse the mixture until it resembles bread crumbs. Do not over process.
3. Add 7 to 8 teaspoons of cold water to the bread crumb mixture and pulse until it forms a ball. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Flour table top, rolling pin and hands with plain flour. Place dough ball in centre and roll out gently until pastry is the size of a 24cm loose bottom pastry tin.
5. Carefully place pastry dough into the tin and prick with a fork. Cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper and pour some baking beans on top. Bake in the middle of the oven for  approximately 6 minutes. Remove baking beans and greaseproof paper, then bake for a further 6 minutes. Remove from the oven.
6. Peel and core all the apples. Take 4, roughly chop then place into microwaveable dish adding a small amount of water and cook on high for at least 15 minutes or until soft. If required, lightly puree using hand blender. Leave to cool. Soak the remaining apples in water until ready to use, squeeze a few drops of lemon juice, into the water, to stop them going brown.
7. Add the raisins, sultanas, chopped apricots and flaked almonds to the pureed apple and add cinnamon, stir until fully combined.
8. Place apricot jam into a microwaveable dish with a little water and cook on high for a minute or until heated through.
9. Take soaked apples and slice thinly.
10. Pour apple and fruit mixture into pastry shell. Arrange thinly sliced apples in concentric circles starting from the outside and working your way towards the centre. Brush heated apricot jam on the sliced apples.
11. Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.