How can you make a classic like apple tart better? By making it a wee bit french style and adding whisky. My auld alliance apple tarts with whisky glaze are just that. a bit French and a bit Scottish too. Best of both worlds!
I call these Auld Alliance Apple Tarts just because they are a traditional apple pie but rather prettily set out in the French style rather than a pie case packed with apple with pastry on top.
The Auld Alliance for those not in the know was the name given to the bond between Scotland and France to defeat the English many years ago.
Comfort food
Apple tart to me is the ultimate in comfort food. The go-to pudding of my childhood. My Mum used to make apple tart every Sunday as part of the Sunday lunch. Apple tart with cream or ice-cream if we were lucky.
Oh the memories the scent of apple pie brings back to me. There is my Mum, flour on her hands making the pastry, the apples peeled and chopped. There’s Dad at the head of the table on Sunday.
My brother and I waiting in anticipation for that lovely juicy apple pie, would it be cream or ice-cream? Funny how food can take you back in time.
I actually came up with this recipe for auld alliance apple tarts when I was writing my Simply Scottish Cakes & Bakes book. Get that if you want to find loads of Scottish baking recipes from breads to shortbreads, cakes to tarts and all calorific goodies in between!
Ready-made pastry
I used ready-made puff pastry for my base here but if you have the time and inclination feel free to make your own.
To me life is just too short for making my own puff pastry, it’s right up there with peeling grapes!
How many apple tarts does this make?
This recipe will make four tarts and the only slightly tricky thing about it is getting the hang of overlapping the apple slices so they lie properly in a pretty circle.
Just practice and if they aren’t perfect who cares, baking and cooking isn’t about perfection, it’s about taste and making food from scratch.
How to serve these apple tarts
Serve them with cream, or a la mode (with ice-cream) or be healthy and use creme fraiche or Greek yogurt as a topping.
Looking for some more super easy Scottish bakes to try? Then check these out before you go;
Traditional Scottish black bun
Millionaire’s shortbread
Traditional Scottish honey buns
Scotch pancakes (aka drop scones)
Traditional Scottish Dundee cake
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Auld Alliance apple tarts with whisky glaze
Ingredients
- 350 g puff pastry
- 4 apples any type of eating apples
- 1 lemon juice and zest
- 4 tbsp golden granulated sugar
- 25 g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp honey runny honey
- 2 tbsp Scotch whisky
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220C/425F and line a baking tray
- Zest the lemon and squeeze out the juice, keep juice and zest in a bowl ready to dip the apple
- Peel and core the apples and cut into quarters and thinly slice evenly and roll in the lemon juice and zest
- Roll out the puff pastry on floured surface to about 2mm thick and cut into 4 circles approx 15cm diameter (I used an upturned soup bowls guide)
- Place rounds on prepared baking tray well apart
- Add the apple slices to create circles on each pie, the apples should overlap each other
- Sprinkle with the sugar and dot with butter
- Bake for approx 15-20 mins till puffed and golden
- Mix whisky and honey in a small pan and warm through. Serve the tarts warm from the oven with a drizzle of whisky honey glaze
Just made them. Came out great..:-)
So glad you made them and enjoyed them too.
K
We have lots of fallen pears will try with themhave
Hi Stewart
Yes this works great with pears too. Hope you enjoy it.
K
Can these be fozen?
Hi Marion
No, I wouldn’t freeze them as the puff pastry would go soggy. They are so quick and easy to make you really don’t need to freeze them, just use half the pack of pastry and freeze the other before making the pies if you are worried about making too much.
K