Apple Tart

How autumn tastes.

My recipe box is a memory box of sorts. When I'm sorting through it for recipes, I'll come across one in my mother's hand, or one in my friend Molly's familiar script. Or I'll find a recipe I copied from someone else, and it will send my mind back to that time and place. A potluck at work, a baby shower, a dinner with friends. Holiday meals and traditions. Everyday favorites that bring back memories of simple weeknight family dinners.

Shared recipes are memory fragments that one can recreate--like conjuring an item from a photograph and rendering it into reality.

One of my favorite recipes came from my friends, Kathy and Terry. It's a fruit tart recipe that has never failed me, no matter what type of fruit I've tried. Kathy made it for K and I when we had dinner at their house one time. We had returned from a trip to England and were sharing photos and stories over a delicious meal. They are both accomplished cooks, and the tart Kathy made was memorable.

I had a handful of leftover apples from my applesauce making. I have made cherry tarts, huckleberry tarts, peach tarts, and plum tarts from this recipe. I think peach and plum are my favorite, but I haven't tried an apple tart with this recipe.

But it's a perfect fall day, and an apple dessert will spice it nicely. I'll include Kathy's recipe below. The only small change I made (because of the tartness of the apples) was to take about 1/4 cup of apple jelly, heated to melt. I added a 1/2 tsp. of vanilla to the jelly, then glazed the tops of the apples with the mixture, followed by the crumb topping.

Fruit Tart
 1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter (very cold or frozen)
1 egg yolk
2 T. milk

Mix dry ingredients. Grate butter through cheese grater into dry mixture. In a small bowl, beat egg and milk together and blend into flour mixture, then press into 11" tart pan with removable bottom. (I start with the sides, then work toward the middle.)

Lay on approx 4 c. sliced and pitted fruit. (Optional, if using very tart apples: Heat 1/4 c. apple jelly to melt, stir in 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, then brush mixture over fruit.)

Crumb topping:
1/3 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar (or 1/3 c. brown sugar)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (use nutmeg w/peaches or nectarines)
1/4 c. butter

Mix dry ingredients, then cut in butter with knife or pastry cutter until pea-sized clumps form.

Top apples with crumb topping. Bake at 375F for about 45 minutes, until crust is brown and fruit is tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.