I just made an apple tart like this: tart pastry in a tart tin with a side
about 1 in high, two layers of sliced apple each sprinkled with sugar.
Baked about 35 min at 200C, the pastry was cooked and crisp, the top of the
apple was slightly browned, the middle was cooked I then glazed it and
added nutmeg.

I am quite happy with it. However SWMBO says " very nice but can you reduce
the rim of dry pastry around the edge". Maybe I can get a shallower tin -
maybe not.

The apple shrinks as it cooks obviously. If I fill it fuller (say 3 layers
of apple) will the apple still cook through by the time the pastry is done?
Will the moisture that it makes as it cooks be too much and turn the bottom
soggy? I know - try it and see. But what do the experts think beforehand?

David

"David Hare-Scott" > wrote in message
...
> I just made an apple tart like this: tart pastry in a tart tin with a side
> about 1 in high, two layers of sliced apple each sprinkled with sugar.
> Baked about 35 min at 200C, the pastry was cooked and crisp, the top of
the
> apple was slightly browned, the middle was cooked I then glazed it and
> added nutmeg.
>
> I am quite happy with it. However SWMBO says " very nice but can you
reduce
> the rim of dry pastry around the edge". Maybe I can get a shallower tin -
> maybe not.
>
> The apple shrinks as it cooks obviously. If I fill it fuller (say 3
layers
> of apple) will the apple still cook through by the time the pastry is
done?
> Will the moisture that it makes as it cooks be too much and turn the
bottom
> soggy? I know - try it and see. But what do the experts think
beforehand?
>

There are different approaches to this problem. You could blind bake the
crust and add the apples, reducing the temperature a bit and baking longer.
To waterproof the pastry, brush it with slightly beaten egg whites after it
is baked and while it is still very hot.

You could also cook the apples before adding them to the pastry. This will
reduce the moisture in the apples, pre-shrink them before they go into the
pastry, and reduce the baking time.

You can toss the apples with the sugar and spices and put them in a sieve
over a bowl, allowing them to exude moisture for about an hour. Collect the
liquid and cook it down to a thick liquid. Add the reduced liquid to the
apples and then bake. This will reduce the moisture but not address the
shrinkage. Take you choice.

David Hare-Scott wrote:
....
> Will the moisture that it makes as it cooks be too much and turn the bottom
> soggy? I know - try it and see. But what do the experts think beforehand?
>
> David

You could mix 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch or two tablespoons of
flour with the sugar and spices before sprinkling over the apples. This
probably would help prevent a soggy crust.

Not an expert, Bobbi Jo

I don't seem to have the original question here, so I am responding bymaking
up what I think might be at issue.

If baking a regular pie, most crusts don't seem to be soggy. If baking a
pie that has been frozen, I usually spread some crisco to the bottom crust,
add fruit sometimes with tapioca startch or arrowroot flour or some kind of
thickening agent, then top crust, again more crisco. I bake these frozen,
first cutting the steaming slits into the top. WEndy
----- Original Message -----
From: >
Newsgroups: rec.food.baking
To: >
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2005 8:46 AM
Subject: Apple tart


>
> David Hare-Scott wrote:
> ...
> > Will the moisture that it makes as it cooks be too much and turn the
bottom
> > soggy? I know - try it and see. But what do the experts think
beforehand?
> >
> > David
>
> You could mix 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch or two tablespoons of
> flour with the sugar and spices before sprinkling over the apples. This
> probably would help prevent a soggy crust.
>
> Not an expert, Bobbi Jo
>
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>

"Vox Humana" > wrote in message
. ..
>
>
> There are different approaches to this problem.

....snip good stuff....

Thanks for some good information

David