DELICIOUS BITES

dutch apple tart

17 Mar 2025

Way back in 2013 I shared a recipe for a Dutch Apple Tart. These days I bake most of my cakes in a small tin and when I checked the recipe it was for a 23 cm tart, even though I'd baked the tart in a 17 cm springform tin. For some reason, I'd not downsized the recipe.

Earlier this year I took out 'Comfort' by Ottolenghi and co-authors Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley and immediately bookmarked the Dutch Apple Cake recipe by Verena Lochmuller. The Dutch Apple Cake is pretty much a Dutch apple tart which has dispensed with the lattice top for a pastry round. It's as much a cake as it is a tart as the pastry shell contains some self raising flour, making it softer than a regular pastry.

With apples back in the fruit shop I decided to remake the recipe, this time downsizing the recipe to match my 17 cm tin. There was no point re-inventing the wheel, so I used my own pastry recipe but adapted the filling from the recipe in Comfort. The filling recipe contained both black treacle and mahleb, neither of which I had in the cupboard. Instead of treacle, I increased the quantity of brown sugar and I left out the mahleb. My apples being new season were very tart and although I increased the quantity of sugar in the filling, it needed a little more and I've adapted the recipe to reflect this.

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 17 cm tart. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Dutch Apple Tart (makes one 17 cm tart)
Pastry
100g plain flour
100g self-raising flour
pinch salt
120g unsalted butter
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 tsp lemon rind
1 egg, beaten
Few tablespoons milk

Filling
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1 cm chunks (280g)
2 Pink Lady apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1 cm chunks (160g)
20g flaked almonds, toasted and roughly crushed
25g raisins soaked in 25ml dark rum (or apple juice)
15g unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp lemon juice
40-55g light soft brown sugar (depends on how tart your apples are)
pinch salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
10g panko breadcrumbs
2 tsp custard powder or semolina

Assembly

2 tsp custard powder or semolina
1-2 tsp white sugar

To serve
Whipped cream

Pastry
In a food processor combine the flours, salt and the sugars. Add the butter and process until the mixture forms breadcrumbs. Add 3/4 of the egg to the flour mixture and reserve the rest. Add the vanilla extract and a little milk if needed and process until a soft dough forms around the blades.

Remove the dough from the processor, knead lightly to form a ball, flatten it out slightly before wrapping the dough in plastic and placing in the fridge for 1 hour.

Filling
Place the apples in a microwave safe bowl. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 minutes or until just softened. Cool a little before combining the remaining filling ingredients. Mix together until well combined.

Assembly
Butter a 17 cm round springform cake pan. This is a very soft dough, so generously dust the bench top with flour. Roll out ⅔ of the pastry and line the base and sides of the tin with the pastry. Spoon 2 tsp of custard powder or semolina over the pastry base followed by the filling.

Roll out the remaining dough. Cut the dough into 1-cm strips and layer them over the apple filling to form a lattice. Fold down the excess pastry to cover the lattice and press to seal. Brush the remaining egg over the lattice then sprinkle the top of the tart with a little extra sugar. If you don’t feel like making a lattice, just roll out the pastry into a round large enough to cover the top of the tart. Press to seal, remove any excess pastry then brush the pastry with the egg and sprinkle with sugar.

Place the tart on a baking tray and bake on the middle shelf of the preheated 180°C, conventional oven, for about 1 hour 15 minutes. I covered the top of the tart with foil after 30 minutes to prevent it over browning. The apples were still a little uncooked so I left the tart in the switched off oven for a further 15 minutes.

Remove the tart from the oven and leave it to cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours. Carefully run a small knife between the tart and the sides of the tin before releasing the spring lock. Cut into thick wedges and serve with the whipped cream served on the side.

The almonds added a little bit of texture to the filling and the sugar, a little crunch to the pastry. Topped with a dollop of cream this made for a nice comforting dessert and good enough for my brother to ask for a second slice.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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hobart

10 Mar 2025

It's been a long while since I last travelled, September 2023 to be exact. I returned home from my overseas trip in October 2023 to find my Dad in a Brisbane hospital. For the next 15 months, Brisbane was the only place I visited. I broke the drought in January with a trip to Melbourne to attend a family wedding, then February I jumped on a flight down to Hobart.

I've always loved travelling and it's something I've missed. Hobart was the last place I visited in 2020, before 2 long years of COVID lock-downs and travel restrictions clipped my wings. I really had no plans for my time while in Hobart, other than to roam around with my camera and reacquaint myself with one of my favourite places. Would you like to see how I spent my time there?

My parents took a trip to Tasmania when I was a teenager and they sent me a postcard of the Cat and Fiddle Arcade. I stayed at the Movenpick Hotel, which was only a short walk from the iconic Cat and Fiddle Arcade, so I made a pilgrimage to view the famous clock. The whole shopping centre has been redeveloped and I was a bit worried the clock might have gone, but it's still there.

Unfortunately the clock has been dwarfed by the redevelopment and the fountain long gone, replaced with food outlets. I found this photo for reference in the archives of the Tasmanian library.

I walked from Salamanca Place through Prince's Park to Battery Point, my favourite part of Hobart. It was a grey afternoon, so I only took a few photos and decided I'd return another day when the sun was out.

I walked past the Lenna Hotel and over to the charming Arthur's Circus.

In black and white and in colour.

From there I walked over to St. George's Church.

It was mid week, so naturally the building was locked.

I walked down Butler's Steps and over to Constitution Dock.

The driver on the airport bus recommended Flippers for fish and chips, so it seemed wrong to go anywhere else for my dinner.

The following morning I explored North Hobart and New Town and hunted down a shoe repair shop when one of my sandals inexplicably fell apart.

I'd read about an old restored street sign on the Loretto Building in Macquarie Street, so I made a pilgrimage to photograph the sign. McCann's Music Centre operated for 142 years, only closing it's doors in 2023.

It only seemed fitting to photograph the sign using black and white film.

I had lunch plans with friends down at the Blue Eye Restaurant at Salamanca Place so I walked there via St David's Park.

I walked back to the Movenpick via the newly opened and very glamorous Tasman Hotel.

On Friday I went on a trip to New Norfolk. I decided not to rent a car while I was in Hobart and went by bus but unfortunately there was a tight connection in Glenorchy which I missed by about 30 seconds. I then had an hour to wait for the next bus and I can report that there is not a lot to do in Glenorchy.

When I arrived I went straight to the Agrarian Kitchen Kiosk, located in the grounds of Willow Court, which operated as a psychiatric institution from 1827 up until 2000.

Willow Court is a mixture of both horrifying and grand with the willow trees after which it was named, long gone.

The kiosk is only open for a few hours Friday to Sunday and as I arrived an hour later than planned, I went straight inside to see what was on the day's menu.

The menu is concise but the pie of the day looked good and tasted great. The desserts looked magnificent and if the pie hadn't been so filling, I might have succumbed but I had some shopping to do at Miss Arthur before I caught the bus back to Hobart.

There were early signs of autumn in New Norfolk.

I found the light in Hobart was at it's best late afternoon, so once I was back in town, I headed over to Cornelian Bay to photograph the iconic boat houses against the backdrop of the Tasman Bridge.

The Bay is the start of the Cornelian Bay Coastal Walk which takes you past the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens and from there into the City.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, so I walked to the gardens.

It was after 5.00 pm and there were very few visitors.

The light at that time of day was just magnificent.

I was the only person at the lily ponds. Pure bliss.

I thought I could catch a bus back to the city from the gardens but I was mistaken so I slowly trudged the last few kilometers home on my now blistered feet.

Saturday was Salamanca Market Day so I was up early along with every other visitor to Hobart or so it seemed.

During my stay, most of the travellers to Hobart were in the mature age group and mobility aids were not uncommon.

A salmon roll for breakfast seemed to be the thing.

I looked at the downtown shops, visited the Maritime Museum of Tasmania and in the afternoon I paid a return visit to Battery Point.

I paid a fleeting visit to the grounds of the historic house Narryna, where a wedding was taking place.

I walked down to A.J White Park for a view of the Derwent River.

'Gift from the Earth' by Keizo Ushio

On my last morning I had just a few hours to spare before my flight back home, so I packed my bag then walked the few blocks to the Farm Gate Market.

Some of the stalls already had queues when I arrived at 8.30 and I recognised a few vendors from the Salamanca Markets.

I returned home with a bottle of Rough Rice Mothership Fermented Chilli for my neighbour.

Everything looked delicious.

When I returned to the hotel I chose the Crushed Potato Rosti with caramelised red onions, creamy whipped lemon tofu, crunchy kale leaves and mixed mushrooms from Mr Brown & Towns (the stall pictured above) for my breakfast which fueled me for my trip back to Sydney.

All in all it was a good trip and hopefully it will kick my travel plans for 2025 into gear.

See you all again next week.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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pistachio butter layer cake with lemon cream cheese icing

9 Mar 2025

My next door neighbour turned 11 last week and I promised that I'd make her a birthday cake. A kind work friend sourced a very large bottle of pistachio cream a few months ago and it has been lurking in my cupboard ever since. The pistachio cream is a key ingredient in the Skye Mcalpine cake I made a few years ago, however I couldn't find any pistachio cream at the time so I used the home made version.

Armed with my very large jar of pistachio cream I remade the cake and decided to make it into a layer cake. As it was going to be a birthday cake, I wanted it to look a little bit fancy. I made the cake on Friday but didn't ice it until Sunday. I was a bit worried that the cake might have dried out a little, so at the last minute I made a lemon soak which I brushed over each cake layer. I then sandwiched the cake layers together with my favourite Natalie Paull lemon flavoured fluffy cream cheese icing and I piped the rest onto the top of the cake. Piping isn't my forte but a sprinkle of chopped pistachios covered up the wonky bits.

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 17cm cake. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Cake
125g caster sugar
125g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
120g pistachio cream
100g plain yoghurt
2 large eggs
150g self-raising flour

Lemon soak (Optional)

30mls water

30mls lemon juice

2 tbs caster sugar

Tiff’s Zingy lemon stuff (makes 150g)
2 small lemons
2 tbs (40ml) water

Lemon cream cheese icing
150g full fat softened cream cheese
150g squidgy soft unsalted butter
pinch salt
50g yoghurt powder or dried milk powder
175g icing sugar
55g Tiff’s lemon zingy stuff

To decorate
A handful of coarsely chopped pistachios

Cake
Heat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Grease, flour and line the base of a 17cm round tin with baking paper. Set to one side.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the caster sugar, butter and vanilla and mix on a low speed until light and creamy. Add the pistachio cream and a generous pinch of salt, and beat until smooth. Slowly beat in the yoghurt and eggs until well combined. Sift in the flour and mix until you have a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into the tin and level the top with an offset spatula. Bake on the centre rack of the preheated 180°C, conventional oven for 45 minutes, then cover with a sheet of foil and bake for a further 10-15 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden on top and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Place the cake on a cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmoulding from the tin. Allow the cake to cool completely before decorating.

Lemon soak

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat and cool a little before using.

Tiff’s Zingy lemon stuff (makes 150g)

Juice one lemon and place the juice in a non-reactive saucepan with the water. Trim the stalk end off the other lemon, halve it, and remove any visible seeds, then slice into thin half-moons and add to the lemon juice in the saucepan. Cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer over a low heat until all the pith is translucent. Take care the lemon doesn't catch any colour as it simmers. You can also use the microwave - cover with a lid and zap for 3 - 5 minutes on high. Cool, then whiz to a paste in a small food processor. Scrape the paste into a small container, doing a final seed check, and chill.

Icing
Place the cream cheese, butter and yoghurt or milk powder and salt in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Sift the icing sugar over the top. Beat with the paddle attachment for 10 minutes on speed 4 (below low) until pale, and fluffy. Store covered in the fridge until needed. If refrigerated, rewarm in the microwave in 20-second bursts until softened. Finish the icing by stirring in 55g of the zingy lemon stuff.

To assemble
Once the cake has cooled, use a long serrated knife to slice horizontally through the centre of the cake. Use the loose bottom of a cake or tart tin to slide in between the layers and lift off the top layer. Slide the bottom layer off the cooling rack and on to a serving plate or cake stand.

Using a pastry brush gently dab the cut surface of each cake layer with the lemon soak. Place one cake layer on a serving dish and spoon 3/4 cup of the icing over the first layer. Top with the second layer and either pipe or spoon the rest of the icing over the top of the cake using the back of a spoon to smooth it out, then sprinkle over a few chopped pistachios for decoration.

Store the decorated cake in a sealed container the refrigerator but let it stand for about 30 minutes to bring it to room temperature before serving.

We did a food swap on Sunday morning. In exchange for birthday cake, I received a still hot from the oven bagel from my neighbours. How was the cake? Absolutely delicious. I'm not sure if the lemon soak was necessary but it did add a little extra lemon flavoured goodness to the cake.

SLIDER