Buttered Apple Tart

Buttered Apple Tart excerpted from Dinner with Jane Austen: Menus inspired by her novels and letters by Pen Vogler.

Take a seat at the Regency dining table and share food enjoyed by Jane Austen’s much loved fictional characters, as well as her own family.

Inspired by the novels and letters of Jane Austen, this collection of recipes is based on authentic recipes from the Regency era, which have been fully updated for modern-day cooks and are taken from the author’s original book, Dinner with Mr Darcy with a renewed focus on the dinner parties that featured in Austen’s novels. Menus featured include Mrs Bennet’s Dinner to Impress (from Pride & Prejudice), An Old-fashioned Supper for Mr Woodhouse and his Guests (from Emma) and Christmas with the Musgroves (from Persuasion).

The book includes menus for lighter fayre, such as Fresh Pea Soup, Baked Sole and Everlasting Syllabub, to the indulgent Roast Leg of Mutton Stuffed with Oysters followed by Buttered Apple Tart. The original recipes are given alongside, so you can compare them and appreciate modern time-savers all the more!

Dinner with Jane Austen: Menus inspired by her novels and letters by Pen Vogler is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Indigo.ca.

Mr. Woodhouse reassures Miss Bates that he is offering her a tart made from fresh apples and “You need not be afraid of unwholesome preserves here. I do not advise the custard.” I hope you disregard Mr. Woodhouse’s views on custard and enjoy this unusual but happy marriage of egg custard and apple tart based on the recipe from Hannah Glasse’s book The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747).

4–5 cooking apples

2 tbsp/30 g butter

2–4 tbsp sugar

½ tsp grated nutmeg

½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional — not in original recipe)

Juice and zest of 1 orange

1 pack of store-bought sweet shortcrust pastry

3 eggs, separated

Confectioners’ (icing) sugar, to serve

Skin, core, and slice the apples and cook them in a tablespoon of water until just soft. While the apples are hot, stir in the butter, sugar to taste, the nutmeg, and cinnamon if using, and the orange zest and juice.

While the mixture cools, preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C/Gas Mark 5, and line a 10-inch/25cm pie dish with the pastry.

Beat the egg yolks and stir them into the apple. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold them into the mixture. Pour the mixture into the pastry case and bake for approximately 30 minutes until the eggs are set.

Serve with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar over it.

Recipe reprinted with permission from CICO Books.