Ingredients
Pastry:
- 90g butter, soft
- 65g castor sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 200g cake flour
Frangipane filling:
- 2 tbsp butter
- 200g almonds, ground
- 90g sugar, white
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanila essence
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/4 tsp salt
Apple roses:
- 12 apples, pink
- 1 lemon, juiced
Rooibos syrup:
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar, white
- 2 rooibos teabags
Preparation method
Pastry:
- Grease a 20cm two-part tart tin with butter and line the base
- Preheat oven to 180 C
- Beat together the butter and sugar
- Add the egg yolks, one at a time, with a small amount of flour
- Beat in the remaining flour
- Wrap in cling film and allow to rest for 15 minutes
- Roll to 5 mm thick and transfer to tart tin. Prick base and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes
- Line with baking paper, fill with baking beans and blind bake for 15 minutes
- Remove baking beans and bake for a further 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned
- Allow to cool
Frangipane filling:
- Preheat oven to 160 C
- Heat the butter in a pan until browned. Allow to cool
- Mix the dry ingredients, then add the butter, eggs and vanilla essence. Mix well
- Spoon the mixture into the pastry shell and spread to even out
- Bake for 30 minutes
- Allow 5 minutes cooling and then remove from the tart tin
Apple roses:
- Using a vegetable peeler, peel the bottom third of each apple and discard peel
- Brush exposed apple with lemon juice to prevent browning
- Peel the remainder of each apple into strips 20cm long and 2cm wide
- Each strip should have about 5mm of apple skin along one edge
- Brush strips with lemon juice to prevent browning
- Transfer apple strips to a microwaveable bowl
- Microwave on high for 15-20 seconds per apple, until softened
- Roll each strip into a rose, with peel at the top
- Square off the base with a knife, if uneven, and place on the top of the cooked tart
Rooibos syrup:
- Place sugar and water in a pot and bring to the boil
- Add the teabags
- After 3-4 minutes, remove the teabags
- Continue to boil the syrup for another 2-3 minutes
- Remove from heat and allow to cool
- Brush the apple roses with the rooibos syrup