KISSABEL® Apple Flower Tart by Kirsten Tibballs

INGREDIENTS

• Shortcrust Pastry
• 110 g unsalted butter
• 65 g pure icing sugar, sieved
• 1 large egg
• 30 g almond meal
• 250 g plain flour
• pinch of salt
• zest of a lemon
• plain flour, for dusting
• Baked Almond Cream Filling
• 60 g unsalted butter
• 60 g caster sugar
• zest of half a lemon
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 60 g almond meal
• 1 KISSABEL® apple
• Caramelised Pecans
• 60 g pecans, roughly chopped
• 80 ml water
• 110 g caster sugar
• Vanilla Custard
• 135 ml full cream milk
• pinch of salt
• ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
• 30 g caster sugar
• 7 g cornflour
• 3 egg yolks
• 85 g unsalted butter, cubed
• KISSABEL® Apple Roses
• 200 ml water
• 270 g caster sugar
• 2 cinnamon quills
• 10 KISSABEL® apples

METHOD

Shortcrust Pastry

• Place the butter and sieved icing sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until smooth.
• Once there are no lumps of butter remaining, add the egg and mix to combine.
• Lastly, add the almond meal, flour, salt and lemon zest, then mix until the ingredients just come together as a dough.
• Press the dough into an even, flat square and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Heat the oven to 150°C, fan forced.
• On a lightly floured workbench, roll the chilled dough to approximately 3mm in thickness.
• Cut out a disc from the dough that is large enough to line the base and sides of a 200mm diameter tart ring with a height of 3mm. Place the dough into the tart ring and onto a lined baking tray.
• Line the tart shell with crumpled baking paper or heat-proof plastic wrap, fill it with uncooked rice or baking beads, and bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes
• Remove the lining from the tart shell and allow it to cool at room temperature while you prepare the Baked Almond Cream Filling. NOTE: The remaining dough can be wrapped in airtight packaging, stored in the freezer for up to 8 weeks, and used for another application.

Baked Almond Cream Filling

• Heat the oven to 160°C, fan forced
• Place the butter, sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix to combine.
• Once there are no lumps of butter remaining, add the egg followed by the almond meal and mix to combine.
• Pipe the mixture into the prepared tart shell.
• Peel the KISSABEL® Apple, remove the core and cut into slices approximately 3mm in thickness.
• Arrange the apple slices on top of the almond cream and gently press down so they adhere to the cream.
• Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes, then allow to cool completely at room temperature.

Caramelised Pecans

• Heat the oven to 155°C, fan forced.
• Place the water and sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
• Add the chopped pecans, mix to coat, then continue boiling for a further 3 minutes.
• Strain the pecans to remove the excess syrup, then spread the pecans over a lined baking tray.
• Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, or until dry and lightly roasted.
• Allow to cool completely at room temperature, then store in an airtight container until required.

Vanilla Custard

• Place the milk, salt and vanilla into a medium saucepan and bring to the boil.
• Meanwhile, combine the sugar and cornflour in a bowl, then add the egg yolks and whisk by hand to combine.
• Pour the hot milk mixture over the egg yolks while whisking.
• Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan and bring it to the boil while continuously whisking. Once it begins to boil, continue whisking while heating for 1 minute.
• Transfer the custard to a bowl and add the butter, one piece at a time, whisking after each addition until fully incorporated.
• Cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight.
• Spread the chilled custard into an even layer over the baked almond filling and apple slices in the tart shell.
• Top the custard layer with the prepared caramelised pecans, leaving approximately 5mm of space from the top of the tart shell.

KISSABEL® Apple Roses

• Place the water, sugar and cinnamon quills into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
• Remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 20 minutes before removing the cinnamon quills.
• Working with one KISSABEL® Apple at a time, cut into quarters and remove the core. Then, cut lengthways into slices approximately 1mm in thickness.
• Submerge the apple slices into the syrup and allow to steep for 30 seconds before gently transferring onto a wire rack to remove any excess syrup.
• To create the apple roses, take one slice of apple and roll it tightly to create the centre of the rose. Then, wrap additional slices of apple around the centre, overlapping them slightly, to create the rose petals. Continue with this process until you achieve the desired apple rose size.
• Repeat to create enough apple roses to cover the tart.
• Arrange the apple roses on top of the tart. NOTE: Food tweezers can be used to adjust the shape of the apple rose petals.