Apple Pastry Tarts

IMG_0004_13, originally uploaded by L'Aubergine Grillée.

A few days after the delivery, I craved for something sweets and fresh. I realized that I became hungry so fast. This could be due to breastfeeding Raffael.

So, I found some old apples in the fridge and the ready-made pastry dough I bought in Carrefour (Life is getting easier with this product). We can find almost in any supermarket this puff pastry, so I can use it on the lazy day that I want dessert or when the guests are visiting with short notice. But if I plan to make one I usually do pastry 2 hours in advance.

Down below is the recipe for long version, the short version is using the ready-made pastry.

Inggredients:

1/2 pound puff pastry or 1 sheet ready-made pastry
5 gala apples
1 tbs butter
2 tbs superfine sugar, I use brown sugar or raw sugar
ground nutmeg
creme fraiche or whipped cream (optional, I prefer vanilla ice cream)
1 egg white

Quick Puff Pastry (I trust the ready-made pastry bought in the store cos it is the easiest) :
250g strong plain flour
1 tsp fine sea salt
250g butter , at room temperature, but not soft
about 150ml cold water

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Roughly break the butter in small chunks, add them to the bowl and rub them in loosely. You need to see bits of butter.

Make a well in the bowl and pour in about two-thirds of the cold water, mixing until you have a firm rough dough adding extra water if needed. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 20 mins in the fridge.

Turn out onto a lightly floured board, knead gently and form into a smooth rectangle. Roll the dough in one direction only, until 3 times the width, about 20 x 50cm. Keep edges straight and even. Don't overwork the butter streaks; you should have a marbled effect.

Fold the top third down to the centre, then the bottom third up and over that. Give the dough a quarter turn (to the left or right) and roll out again to three times the length. Fold as before, cover with cling film and chill for at least 20 mins before rolling to use.

Making Apple Pastry Tarts:

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to a rectangle, and cut into smaller rectangles.

Transfer to the baking sheet. Chill for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Cut the apples in half and quarters and remove the pits, then slice the fruit thinly. Arrange the apples slices from the top to down of each rectangle dough. Brush the whole rectangle with white egg and sprinkle the fruit with the brown sugar and a little ground nutmeg.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges of the pastry are puffed and the fruit is tender.

You may serve them with the whipped cream or by itself, if you like. We prefer with Vanilla Ice cream.