A homely apple tart is always welcome for tea or pudding. Here's an easy vegan-friendly recipe to try!
If you don't feel like making the pastry from scratch, you can always use a ready-made pastry such as Jus Rol pastry which doesn't contain egg or butter. (Always check the label.)
Ingredients:
For the pastry
200g plain flour
¼ teaspoon salt
rapeseed or vegetable oil – about 3-5 tablespoons
2 tablespoons maple syrup
For the apple filling
2 large Bramley Apples
4 eating apples – like Cox or Braeburn
2 tbsp soft brown sugar (ensure your sugar is vegan friendly - see below)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for dusting if you like
If you are cooking vegan, ensure your sugar does is not refined using bone char (see Tips). Choose an organic or beet sugar that is vegan friendly, or substitute the sugar with a vegan friendly syrup like Sweet Freedom Fruit Syrup or Lyle's Dessert Syrup. 1 tablespoon of syrup should be sweet enough to equate to 2 tablespoons of sugar, but adjust to your taste.
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 200C (180C Fan) Gas Mark 6.
For the pastry, measure the flour and salt into a bowl or food processor. Add the maple syrup and stir in. Gradually add the oil until the dough forms a ball (you don’t want it too wet). Chill the pastry ball for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel, core and roughly chop the Bramley Apples and place in a pan. Add 1 tablespoon of the sugar along with the cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of water. Cook over a gentle heat until the apples become soft and sauce like. Allow to cool a little.
Peel the eating apples and chop in to quarters. Then thinly slice each quarter. Place the slices in a bowl of water with the lemon juice to stop them turning brown.
Remove the pastry from the fridge, place in an oiled 20cm tart tin (ideally loose bottomed). It may be difficult to roll the pastry - sometimes i try to roll a little and then transfer to the tin to press the rest down, sometimes i just press it down from the start, gradually easing it over the base and up the sides of the tin. Once it is evenly covered, gently prick the pastry with a fork, place some greaseproof or baking paper on top of the pastry and pour some baking beans on top. Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and turn the temperature down to 180C (160C Fan) Gas Mark 4.
Spoon the cooked apple into the pastry case and smooth out. Now lay the apples slices on top of the cooked apple- i like to place them in circle as it looks attractive when it's . Sprinkle with cinnamon and the other spoonful of brown sugar.
Place in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving.