Food Lovers: A Whisky Recipe part 5

We are right at the middle of winter and there is nothing better than an apple tart. However, even better than a normal apple tart, is a whiskey apple tart! In this recipe, we will give you the steps to create the most amazing Irish Apple Tart.

Irish Apple Tart

Ingredients

• 200g Golden raisins
• 3 ½ oz. Irish Single-malt whiskey (plus an extra splash for the apples)
• 250g demerara sugar
• 1 ½ kg cooking apple (peeled and cored)
• Small Knob of butter
• 1 cinnamon stick (slightly crushed)
• 284 ml whipping cream
• 1 egg (beaten with a splash of milk)

Pastry ingredients

• 500g plain flour
• 100g sugar
• 2 eggs

Savoury Sugar ingredients

• 140g muscovado sugar
• 10g Maldon sea salt
• Zest of three lemons

How to

1. First, you start with the savoury sugar and the oven. Heat the oven to 140C/fan or 160C/gas 1. Scatter the muscovado sugar, the Maldon sea salt and the lemon zest over a baking sheet. Leave it in the oven for 15 minutes in order to dry it out. Remove and leave it to cool. Once cold, blitz in a blender until it looks like flour. Pass it through a large-holed sieve in order to remove any big pieces. Set aside.
2. Now, lets start with the pastry. Pulse the flour and butter together in a food processor. Continue this process until you have the texture like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and the eggs. Pulse again until everything comes together. Wrap the pastry with cling film and let it chill.
3. Add the raisins in a pan with the whisky. Add a tsp of sugar and bring it to simmer. Once it heats, set it aside.
4. Cut the apples into large wedges. Add them to a heavy-based pan with melted butter. Toss the apples with the butter and add half of the demerara sugar, the cinnamon stick (slightly broken) and a good splash of whiskey. Cook the apples for around 3 to 4 minutes or until coloured. Place them in a sieve and drain away the excess juices.
5. Turn the oven again to 160C/fan or 140C/gas 3. Grease and flour a 28 cm baking ring. Remove the pastry from the chill and work it. Put some flour on a bench and roll the pastry with a thickness of 2 cm. For the baking ring, roll two-thirds of the pastry and line the ring. Chill it for at least 20 minutes. Remove from chill and prick the pastry with a fork. Add baking pastry to the pastry and then toss some dry beans over it. This allows the pastry to cook evenly and with the right shape. Add the baking ring to the oven for around 10 minutes. Brush it with the beaten eff and return to the oven for around 5 minutes. Continue with this process allowing it to cook for another 5 minutes. This allows the pastry to become extra crispy. Remove from the oven.
6. Let the pastry cool before adding the filling. Once cooled, add the apple and the raisin mixtures. Reserve any whiskey that has not been absorbed by the raisins. Roll a lid of pastry over the tart and if any pastry is leave, make some leaves or flowers as a décor. Brush with egg wash in order to secure the edges. Prick the top in order to release any extra steam and add the remaining demerara sugar. Turn the over to 180C/fan or 160C/gas 4 and cook for around 20 minutes or until the top is golden.
7. Once ready, put the apple tart on a large plate. Lightly whip the cream and add the raisin whiskey as a sauce. Serve and enjoy with your loved ones.