Grandma's Apple Taart

In the Netherlands, you don't have yiayias, you have omas. "Oma" is the Dutch word for grandma and the Oma's appel taart is a true Dutch delicacy. As I currently live away from my home country, I thought it appropriate to take a peek at what the Dutch have for us in terms of the traditional recipes, made famous by a generation of grandmothers whose lessons are sadly being forgotten. 


You will be hard pressed to find a dutch cafe that doesn't offer you koffee en gebak and it will always be a tempting looking apple tart. At every birthday party I attend here in the Netherlands, there is always a slice waiting for you. 


So, it's a real crowd pleaser and definitely one for the winter months. Thus, I urge you to make it and invite your friends and family over for koffie en gebak. 


Ingredients:


For the dough:
300g self-raising flour
150g caster sugar
175g (salted) butter
1/2 egg (save the rest for brushing the pastry)


For the filling:
1 kilogram apples (hard, sour ones), halved and sliced thinly or in sticks
75g raisins (soaked in water)
75g granulated sugar
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon (mmmmm)
juice of half a lemon


And some toasted bread crumbs to make sure the cake does not stick


Instructions:


Butter a round cake tin and sprinkle the bread-crumbs to line the tin. 


Combine all of the ingredients for the dough and work until smoothly combined. Wrap in cling-film and leave in the fridge. 

Now combine the ingredients for the filling in a bowl. 

Retrieve the pastry from fridge and roll it out to form the sides and bottom (for this I usually use the bottom of the cake tin as a guide. Then spoon the filling into the tin. Now roll out the rest of the pastry and make a thatch pattern on top, or alternatively a pattern of your choice. 

Brush with the remaining egg half and then pop it in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 175°C.

Serve with whipped or pouring cream and a sprinkling of icing sugar for decoration.