A Nice Apple Cake

This is in fact a tart, and not just nice, but really wonderful, although I kept the name given to the recipe by its author, Mrs. Davidis.

It is simple to make and truly delicious: a buttery pastry shell topped with apples and almonds, combined in a delightful balance of tartness and sweetness.

This is my entry for the Apple Day Blog Event proposed by Zorra

The ROUNDUP is here–see all the great recipes that each participant contributed!

 

From the original recipe by Henriette Davidis

In “Henriette Davidis’ Practical Cook Book. Compiled For The United States From The Thirty-fifth German Edition” 1897–USA

Ingredients

Pastry:

2 cups(9 oz –255 g) all-purpose flour (unbleached)

1 cup ( 1/2 lb–2 sticks—-227 g) unsalted butter

3 tbsp (1 oz –28 g) sugar

2 tbsp (30 ml) cold water (or as needed)

Apple Topping:

5-6 tart apples (I used Granny Smith apples)

1/2 cup (100 g) white wine

1/2 organic lemon (juice and zest)

1/3 cup (30 g–1 oz) almonds, blanched and coarsely ground

flour

sugar

Preheat the oven to 325°F–160°C

Make the Pastry: Put the flour and butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse briefly until the mixture looks like bread crumbs. Add the sugar and pulse briefly to mix it in, then add enough cold water, 1 tbsp at a time, processing briefly until the pastry comes together. Do not over process. Gather the dough in a piece of wax paper and let it rest in a cool place, but not in the refrigerator, for about 20 minutes. Then place the dough in a springform pan (10-inch–25 cm diameter), pressing it down with the tip of your fingers over the bottom and 1/3 up the sides of the pan to line the pan with a thin layer of pastry. Sift a thin layer of flour over the pastry shell, then place the pan in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the Apple Topping: Mix the wine, 1 tbsp of sugar, the ground almonds, the lemon juice and the grated lemon zest and set this mixture aside. Peel and core the apples, cut them in half, and with a sharp knife score each apple half on the round side with several thin parallel cuts that reach 2/3 of the way through. Dip each apple half in the wine mixture, then arrange the apples, cut side down, on the pastry shell. Spoon any remaining wine mixture on top of the apples, then sprinkle a very generous amount of sugar all over and between the apples.

Bake for at least 90 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the apples cooked. Take the tart out of the pan and let it cool on a rack.

It is important for the success of this recipe to bake the tart for a long time at a relatively moderate temperature, not above 325°F (160°C), on a rack placed in the upper third of the oven.

It is also important to sprinkle a layer of flour on top of the pastry before arranging the apples in the pastry shell. The flour will prevent the juices from running over.