Yummy Dutch AppleTart!

ECHTE OUD-HOLLANDSE APPELTAART

Ingredients:

300 g plain flour                                 1 kg apples

100 g caster sugar                              100 g raisins

pinch of salt                                      1.5 tbsp custard powder

220 g cold butter                                50 g ground almonds

1 egg                                                150 g almond paste *

3 tbsp apricot jam                              3 tbsp cinnamon powder

* You can either buy the almond paste or make it yourself. The consistency is 225 g ground almonds, 225 g icing sugar and 1 egg white mixed together. You will end up with more than you need though.

Use a 24cm round baking tin (greased & lined).

1. Mix flour, sugar and salt. Cut butter in small pieces and stir through the mixture. Cut even smaller with two knives or rub in with finger tips.

2. Whisk egg; add 3/4^th of it to the mixture. Knead with cool hands quickly to a dough ball.

3. Press 3/4^th of the dough all around the sides and bottom of the tin. Put in fridge to harden.

4. Preheat oven 175°. Peel apples and cut into small pieces. Mix with the raisins, custard and almonds. Loosen the almond paste with a fork and spread out in the tin over the bottom. Put the apple mixture in.

5. Use the left-over dough: roll out over a floured surface to a thickness of approx 0.5cm. Cut into strips of approx 1.5cm width. Arrange the strips over the top in a chequered fashion. Connect each strip to the dough edges.

6. Brush the remaining egg on top. Bake in the oven near the top for about 45min/1 hour till the top is golden brown. Brush with heated apricot jam.