Apple Croustade
on Friday, 02 August 2019.
Posted in French Friday, Provence
This classic French apple dessert was first created in south western France. It is made with layers of paper thin phyllo pastry which encases delicious apples.
Traditionally, orange blossom water and cinnamon are used in this dessert, but I didn’t use either.
The Croustade is considered a bit more than just a dessert, it’s more in tune with the cultural heritage of France where women stood around for hours rolling out the pastry till it was paper thin, and, fine enough to be a bride’s veil.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 8 sheets of phyllo pastry
- 2 tblsp brandy
- 7 green apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 120 gr sugar
- 100 gr butter
- Pinch of salt
Method
Method
- Preheat oven to 190 degrees.
- Line base of a spring form tin, and grease the sides with butter. Set aside.
- Place 3 tblsp of the butter, 70 gr of the sugar and the salt into a saucepan, allow butter to melt, then add the apples. Cook on a low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat, pour brandy over the apples and ignite till flame subsides. Return to the heat and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- To assemble the pie, lay the phyllo pastry sheets down and butter the first one before laying it in the tin, with sides overhanging. Butter another 4 layers of pastry and place each layer into the tin on a different angle.
- Place the apples onto the pastry. Cut the remaining pastry into quarters, and, working one piece at a time, butter each piece, then while holding the pastry in the centre, fold the corners into the centre to form a rosette. These can now be placed on top of the apples till all the apples are covered with pastry rosettes.
- Brush pastry with remaining butter, then pour the rest over the pie.
- Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, being careful not to burn the pastry.
