Tangy blackberry and apple tart recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Desserts, Fruit | 12 comments
The success of Orangette’s Apricot Tart fired up my baking enthusiasm and I planned to make the same again when my mum came to lunch on Sunday. I decided to follow Orangette’s pastry recipe exactly – using all butter this time.
Fresh apricots were on the shopping list until I spotted some plump juicy blackberries in the garden. Why buy fruit when we have free fruit hanging on our fence? In twenty minutes I had picked enough to cover the base of the pie, plucked a cooking apple from our tree. I devised an alternative filling but used Orangette’s method of folding sugar through the fruit.
“How do you know that it will taste OK?” Danny was intrigued
“It should work, as long as I get the sugar level right and don’t make the apple slices too chunky.” I wasn’t wildly confident. I used less sugar as the blackberries were sweet and ripe.
As Pamela has said, the pastry tasted like biscuits. The base of the pastry was soaked in apple and blackberry juice but remained firm with a good texture, even as leftovers from the fridge next day. The blackberry and apple filling was to die for.
“This is wonderful!” Danny’s eyes were as round as organ stops as he cut a second slice.
Easy, chic and light years away from a stodgy blackberry and apple crumble.
Ingredients:
The pastry
Orangette’s superb pastry recipe is here. I bought some American measuring cups last year and they are a great investment. If you don’t have these cups there’s a useful conversion site here for converting cups to grams.
The idea of putting the pastry case in the freezer as you prepare the fruit works well. There was no need to bake the pastry blind and the sides didn’t shrink. I don’t have a flan case with a separate base. My old ceramic quiche dish was fine.
The filling ingredients:
- 350g -450g of blackberries (washed)
- 150g (or more) of cooking apples (washed, peeled and sliced. The backs of my slices were about a centimetre wide)
- 3 tbsp of caster sugar and 1 tsp of sugar to sprinkle over the fruit. If your blackberries are still a bit tart you may need a bit more sugar. This can be sprinkled over the pie when it comes out of the oven.
Method:
- Make Orangette’s pastry at least 2 hours before you need it and chill in the fridge. Roll out your pastry and line a well buttered flan dish. Follow her instructions for trimming and pressing the edges as I’m sure that this reduces the risk of pastry shrinkage. Pop the flan dish in the freezer.
- Put the fruit in a deep bowl, sprinkle over the sugar and turn the fruit to guarantee that it is well coated. Spoon the fruit gently into the pastry case and arrange. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of caster sugar and bake in a preheated oven at 190 (170 fan) for about 35-45 minutes. You may need to cover the tart with a piece of baking parchment/ or turn the oven down 10 degrees during the last 10 minutes if it is sarting to brown too much.
We served the blackberry and apple tart at room temperature with splosh of extra thick double cream. Yummy.
Can’t wait to try this with the Autumn raspberries and a dash of kirsch.
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The blackberries and apple tart looks delicious. I will be trying this.
Sara from farmingfriends
Update on the possible tart fillings – I made another one with strawberries today. It wasn’t as good as the apricots or plums because there was too much liquid so the pastry at the bottom was too soggy and the sauce didn’t have that jammy quality that the apricots and plums had. It tasted good though. Might have to go and try it again just to make sure … I forgot to add the salt to the sugar, do you think that might have made a difference?
Well, I made the dinky tart with the few remaining plums. Delicious. Now I have left over pastry – as I made the full quantity – and strawberries in the fridge. I feel another tart coming on. Oh and an offer of more victoria plums and apples (both eating and baking) from a friend’s allotment. Apparently there are more evictions happening any day now, I must be creeping up the waiting list.
Hi Pamela
Oops! Yes you’re right. All purpose flour is plain flour, got my facts in a twist! Blame anything apart from Google 😉
You’ve nothing to lose enquiring about more plums especially if you offer to pick some for her at the same time!
Hello Fiona
I’m quite sure that all purpose flour is plain flour, as in you can add raising agents to it so it is fit for all purposes. I bought strawberries today – 1/2 price – to make another tart. I wanted blueberries too as I thought the colours would be lovely together, too expensive though. I also realised that I have a much smaller pie tin lurking in the box on top of the cupboard – my mum used to make a “little something” in it with the left over pastry when we were little – so I could make a dinky tart just for me! This would also leave extra pastry in the fridge so I would have to make another one in the next day or so … Would it be rude to ask for more plums if your friend has mentioned a glut?
Hi Samantha
This was truly awesome and so simple and easy. Num nums with knobs on.
Hello Pamela
Strawberries would be good, also rhubarb, apples, blackcurrants the list goes on. The only ingredient that needs to be adjusted is the sugar.
What a shame that you guzzled the plums.
Hello The organic Viking
Today I twigged what Orangette’s ˜all purpose flour™ was – self raising flour (durrrr). So can’t wait to try it with this! With plain flour the tarts were superb.
Clearly I am not the only one who has been having thoughts of fruit tarts this week! Thanks for the recipe – I’d like to try and make one without a filling to save on time and general fuss, and this sounds delicious.
Oh I really want to make this again – I’m a sucker for apricot tart, just a Francophile at heart. That biscuity tasting pastry works so well with the fruit doesn’t it? If you made it with strawberries it would be like eating strawberry shortcake only better! There is such a racket going on outside my window from roadworks that I could persuade myself that I should treat my tastebuds to make up for the assault on my ears! I wish I hadn’t just guzzled the Victoria plums my friend brought yesterday when she came for her Italian lesson, I’m sure they would have made an excellent tart.
I have just re read my comment and appologies to Hugh I managed make his name sound rude!!
Spooky – I discovered freezing the cases last week from Hugh F-Whit…… I was baking sweet tart cases blind for pre-cooked fillings and fresh fruit. It worked wonders for stopping the edges from sliding into the middle!
Like the sound of the biscuit base, I will be investigating.
More num nums (translates is ‘nice food’ when you are 5 years old)- no good for my diet.