A couple of weekends ago Don and I were invited to a dinner party. All of the guests, bar one of the hosts were British expats and because no one can pinpoint my mishmash accent, I was granted 1/2 American status aka the mutt. It was one of those spirited evenings where your head hurts from laughing so hard and by the time the main course is served there are already at least three one-liners bouncing around the table, each time spouted just as hilariously as the first. Crammed around a table in a tiny Brooklyn kitchen all sat on mismatched chairs sat a refreshing array of professions. One of the hosts is freelance writer and filmmaker her husband (and sole American) a technology writer for Forbes, then there was a designer for American Eagle, a Columbia post-grad biochemist and a rocket scientist. Yup, I met a real rocket scientist. He taught all about satellites and put to rest my recurring nightmare of the moon crashing into Earth*- but if any dream interpreters out there would like a stab at analyzing that, I’m all ears!
I wish I could talk more about the food in detail- quinoa stuffed peppers, halloumi kebabs, a butternut squash and coriander soup….alas, I was Little Miss Germs sat at the end of the table, unable to taste even an extra strength strepsil, tissue box on my lap and mug of hot water with lemon and honey in place of a wine glass. But there was little to feel sorry for myself about. When dessert was served- an apple pie and a pecan pie the most fiery debate of the evening opened up.
What qualifies something as a pie? Does a pie need to be sweet? Does a pie need to have a base? Does it need to involve pastry? Well, in the UK, no…Shepherds pie, fish pie, steak and kidney pie all savoury and have only toppings and that are not made of pastry. And that really confused things because pecan pie, key lime pie and pumpkin pie don’t have tops but they do have bottoms…so why aren’t they called tarts? And why is a cheesecake called a cake when it has a tart-like bottom? The conclusion was that anything can be called a pie in America but a tart in England involves pastry and is open-topped and don’t ask me what makes something a flan because that’s a whole other debate for another night.
So needless-to-say I’ve been thinking a lot about pies and tarts since and for the next few weeks I’m going to be posting about a number of savoury and sweet tarts. This week it’s Bakewell tart (not to be mistaken with a Bakewell pudding) which consists of a shortcrust pastry shell covered with a layer of jam and an almond-sponge topping. Sometimes the tart is served with an layer of icing and a token maraschino cherry on top and called a Cherry Bakewell but then you loose the crisp topping, which to me would be as disappointing as a crème brûlée without a shell to crack. According to Wikipedia only the Bakewell pudding (essentially a Bakewell tart using puff pastry) is of British origin and the Bakewell tart can be claimed by the Americans, which I find somewhat upsetting and insulting to my British culinary education. And anyway, surely if it really were American it would be called a pie? Discuss.
So now that we’re all thoroughly confused let me tell you about my version of a Bakewell tart which has nothing to do with cherries, bakewell or almonds but is in fact a tart, baked somewhat appropriately in a pie plate. Being that it is Autumn and apples are at their finest I decided at the last minute to throw in a layer, which I must say worked out rather nicely. The topping was not planned either but a lack of almonds gave left me with only a few options- 1/ I could go out in the rain and buy some. 2/ I could grind up some cashews, which would involve a/ getting down the food processor b/locating the blade to the food processor and c/extra washing up or 3/ use dessicated coconut. Hence the coconut.
It’s a combination that works. A tart made in a pie plate with English roots claimed by Americans and which I thoroughly bastardized. That might sound nonsensical but so does peanut butter and Marmite on toast and that’s bloody delicious. So is this.
* my actual recurring nightmare involves me wrapping a rope around the moon and pulling it into the pond of one of my childhood homes. It’s terrifying.
200g plain flour
55g/4 Tbsp frozen butter
45g/3 Tbsp chilled lard (or vegetable shortening)
pinch salt
2-3 Tbsp ice water
55g/4 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
55g sugar
1 large free-range egg
40g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
55g unsweetened dessicated coconut
7 Tbsp jam ( I used peach and apricot)
1 x 200g tart apple (such as Granny smith or Mutzu)
• First make the pastry. Put the flour in a medium bowl and quickly grate in the butter using a box grater. If the lard is solid cut into tiny cubes now add your pinch of salt and using the tips of your fingers rub the butter lard and flour mixture together until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (you can also do this pulsing in a food processor).
• Now with a fork in one hand and 2Tbsp of pre-measured ice water in other, pour and stir at the same time quickly combining the flour mixture with the liquid. If it still looks very dry add the remaining Tbsp and repeat. Now bring it together into a ball with a couple of quick purposeful kneads. Flatten slightly into a disk and cover in cling film. Chill for 30 minutes. If you chill the pastry for more than 30 minutes then you will need to allow it to sit at room temperature until pliable before you start rolling it.
• After 30 minutes roll out your dough evenly on a lightly floured surface or between layers of cling film/plastic wrap. Make sure that you roll it thin enough that you will have a small amount of overhang in the pie plate. Now use the rolling pin to help you guide the pastry into the pie plate and gently press it into snuggly into place. Use scissors or a sharp knife to trip the pastry so that you have 1cm/1/2inch of extra pastry around the top.
• Fold this extra lip of pastry under and in on itself so that you have a double layer of pastry at the top. Now crimp the pastry so that it sits on the lip of the pie plate using a bent index finger on the inside of the pastry shell pressing it between two fingers spaced 1cm/1/2 inch apart on the other side of the shell. Click here for a great video demo. Alternatively you can just crimp by gently pressing the underside of a fork around the rim!
• Prick the base all over with a fork and chill whilst you make the filling.
• Heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5
• Beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the egg until fully combined then sift over the flour, baking powder and salt, add the coconut and fold everything through until just combined.
• Spread your jam evenly across the bottom of the tart shell. Core your apple and very thinly slice your apple (I like to do this on a microplane). Evenly fan around the base on top of the jam and the dollop the batter on top. Gently spread evenly over the top.
• Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the pastry and the topping are lightly golden. The topping should be slightly puffy.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
rI eally enjoyed the story! and you know….it kinda looks like a pie to me. Could it be that a pie is something baked in a pie plate and a tart is baked in a tart pan? Or maybe it’s like…the difference between Champagne and Sparkling Wine, it just depends on where it’s made. Or maybe in the end, all that matters is how yummy it is!
Bakewell Tarts are sooooo delish!!! I made one last year for a daring bakers challenge and fell in love
This looks so good!
Wait, I cannot fathom it being so srtaihgtforrwad.