Apple Rose Tart

  

Best served with No. 3 Pinot noir rosé Vermouth

Ingredients

For the sweet pastry case:

• 250g Plain Flour
• 180g Butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 75g Icing sugar
• 2 egg yolks, plus a third for an egg yolk wash
• Pinch of salt
• 20ml ice-cold water
• Extra butter for greasing
• Greaseproof paper

For the custard:

• Double shot (50 ml) of In the loop No. 3 Pinot noir rosé Vermouth
• 4 whole eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 200g caster sugar
• 150g Double cream
• 1 tsp vanilla paste

For the apple roses:

• 10 eating apples (for pink ‘roses’, use pink lady eating apples). 10 apples should make 40 roses.
• Juice from half a lemon
• 250ml cold water
• For the apple glaze:
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• Single shot (25ml) In the loop – Pinot noir rosé Vermouth

Method

To make the sweet pastry case:

Grease a 23cm/9” fluted tart/flan/quiche tin and line with greaseproof paper.

Cream the butter and icing sugar together until the mix is pale and fluffy.

In a separate bowl mix the egg yolks, salt and water together.

Combine the egg mix with the creamed butter.

Gently fold in the flour until just mixed.

Bring the dough together until it forms a dry, pliable, smooth ball, being careful not to overwork. You might need a little ice-cold water or flour to achieve this. Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge for 20 minutes to rest.

After 20 minutes, pre-heat the oven to 160°C. Then on a floured surface, roll the dough until it is the width of a pound coin or thinner and a few centimetres bigger than your tin. Place the dough into the tin and gently press the dough into the edges with your fingers. Place greaseproof paper over the tart and fill with baking beans. If you don’t have baking beans you can use dried rice, lentils or peas.

Blind bake the pastry case for 10-15 until the pastry is golden brown.

Carefully remove the beans and paper and place the tart back in the oven for 2 mins.

After 2 minutes, remove from the oven again, brush it with egg yolk to seal any gaps and bake for a further 2 mins.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack when safe to do so.

To make the custard:

Whisk all the custard ingredients together and pass through a sieve into a jug. Put to one side

To make the apple roses:

Pour 250ml cold water into a bowl and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Wash and slice the apples into thin, round disks about the thickness of a penny. To do this, place the apple on a chopping board with the stalk sticking straight up, and slice downwards parallel to the stalk, or use a mandolin if you have one.  Then take the disks and cut them in half so you have semi-circles of equal size. You need 6 semi-circles per rose. Place them in the bowl as soon as they are cut to stop them browning. 

When finished, place the bowl of water and apple slices in the microwave for 90 seconds or until they become pliable but not mushy.

When cool enough, lay 6 semi-circles in a line so that half of one slice overlaps half of the slice underneath and roll carefully. They should look like roses. Place upright in the tart case.

When all the apples are done, carefully pour the custard around the apples in the tart case. Bake in the oven at 160°C for 20 minutes until the custard is wobbly but not liquid. Mix together the honey and vermouth and brush over the apples whilst the tart is still hot. When cool enough, carefully remove the tart from the case onto a wire cooling rack.