Orchard in Flanders (pre 1924) by Emile Claus

This makes enough for a 6 person dinner party and would be wonderful with cream or ice cream.  The chef who published this recipe has suggested it goes down very well with a drop of port so it may well be worth serving this up instead of a rather stodgy Christmas pudding!!  Alternatively I may serve it up instead of bringing out the seemingly everlasting Christmas cake and mince pies for afternoon tea on Christmas Day or Boxing Day!

Although the recipe calls for sweet pastry, personally I’ve never had a problem with using bog standard ready made chilled shortcrust for sweet pies and tarts.

I wouldn’t say this dish is VERY easy but it’s certainly simpler than trying to make a Christmas pudding or bake a Christmas cake so if you’re a novice cook who’s aiming to have the family round this yuletide, then I’d suggest you have a bash at this recipe and test it out on hubby and the kids over the next month or so and, if successful, dish it up at Christmas!

Ingredients

For the frangipane

250 g (9 oz) Butter

250 g (9 oz) Sugar

250 g (9 oz) Ground almonds

4 Whole eggs

For the puree

1 Vanilla Pod (or a few drops of vanilla essence)

2 Bramley apples, peeled, cored and diced

2 tbsp Sugar

1 handful Raisins

6 Cox’s apples, peeled, cored and halved lengthways (or any other eating apples that are full of flavour and very slightly tart)

Method

Grease and line a 12″ tart ring (or flan ring) with uncooked sweet pastry (or just plain ready made chilled shortcrust). 

I have a few “cheap and cheerful” oven proof fluted dishes which are around 12″ so you may want to go for one of those.  You can literally take the tart out of the oven, leave it to one side to cool a bit while you’re whipping the cream to accompany it and then take it straight out to the dining table.  I normally like to try cutting a slice of it before I take it to the table though – there’s nothing more embarrassing than cutting it at the table to find that as you’re delicately trying to entice it out of the dish, for it to end up in a crumbly mess all over your best tablecloth!  If the first portion does cause a problem, then just shove it on a plate to eat later and you should find the second piece easier to slice.

To make the frangipane:

Cream the butter and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved and the butter is pale.

Add the ground almonds. Beat until they’re distributed fairly evenly throughout the mixture then add the eggs one at a time so the mix doesn’t split. Chill in the fridge until ready to use.

To make the puree:

Cook the vanilla pod (or essence) with the Bramley apples and a small amount of water over a low heat until pureed. I would suggest adding about 3 tbsp of water to start with and keep a very close eye on it.  If it seems to be a bit dry then add water 1 tbsp at a time until you have a decent puree. Add sugar to taste

To assemble the tart:

Spoon the puree mix over the base of the uncooked tart shell and scatter a handful of raisins over it.

Fill the tart with peeled, cored and diced Cox’s apples and pipe the frangipane around the apples. If you’re no good with a piping bag just dollop some fairly neat spoonfuls around the apples. 

Bake in a low oven about 150C/300F/Gas mark 2 for 40-50 minutes until cooked and golden. (An knife inserted into the centre of the tart should come out clean).

Serve warm with cream.