For the sweet Pastry you will need:
• a pinch of golden caster sugar
• 8 oz. of diced cold butter
• 16 oz. of plain sieved flour
• 3 tbsp. of cold milk to bind
1. In a large bowl, sieve your flour and add your golden caster.
2. Now add in your diced butter to the flour and rub together to combine, this is a key step to making short pastry as you want the flour and butter to be blended evenly.
3. Once blended add your touch of milk to bind.
4. Once ready turn out of the bowl and clean wrap your sweet pastry in some cling film, allow it to relax. By allowing the dough to relax, the gluten in the flour relaxes which allows you to work them into your torte cases.
5. Lay out your pop bottom torte cases and line with butter as this helps to form a non-stick surface.
6. Allow your dough to room (come to room temperature), portion into four and roll on either a floured surface or between two sheets of non-stick greaseproof paper (if you don’t want to make a mess)
7. Roll your dough out to the thickness of a one-pound coin, for me I prefer to have a thin crisp base to my apple tortes.
8. Using a blunt knife cut your pastry and push into the torte cases, for even pushing use a little of the dough from the trim to ensure that you have all of the dough pushed into the edges of the torte case.
9. Blind bake with some grease proof paper and baking beans, as this helps to ensure for an even bake and makes your tortes watertight and able to hold the filling.
11. Blind bake from 15-20 minutes until lightly golden, allow to cool completely in the torte case before pushing out.
For the Frangipane you will need:
• 8 oz butter
• 1 vanilla pod
• 8 oz sugar
• 3 free range eggs
• 225 grams of ground almonds
1. To begin weigh out the ingredients as stated above. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, add your vanilla paste (or pod seeds), then add one egg at a time, followed by your ground almonds.
2. If this is not for immediate use, you can leave this frangipane mixture in the fridge for at least 3 days.
3. To cook, place into your pre-cooked torte cases, cook until slightly risen and golden brown.
4. To finish add your fruit slices and for the GG signature you can blowtorch each of the fruit segments (see below)
Blow torched apples:
1. To begin core your apple and slice your apples to 4cm thickness using a sharp knife and lay out onto a baking sheet, then dust with caster sugar and blow torch till golden and bubbling.
2. Be careful as both the sugar and blow torch will be incredibly hot.
Finally…
To assemble lay your cooled blowtorched apples onto the top of your frangipane tarts and to finish using a micro pane grate over a little whole nutmeg.
The Gourmet Gent 