Grandmother’s appeltaart

Ingredients

For the dough
300 gplain flour
200 gcold butter, in small cubes
175 gsoft light brown sugar
½ tspfine salt
1egg, beaten — half for the dough, half to glaze
For the filling
1.2 kgfirm tart apples, such as Elstar or Goudreinet
100 gcaster sugar, mixed with 2 tsp ground cinnamon
½lemon, zest only
3 tbspfine dry breadcrumbs, for the base

Take the butter straight from the fridge — cold butter is what keeps the crust short.

Method

Mix the flour, brown sugar and salt. Rub in the cold butter, add half the beaten egg and knead briefly into a firm dough. Wrap and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Butter a 24 cm springform tin. Roll out two thirds of the dough and line the base and sides without gaps; keep the rest for the lattice.
Peel, quarter and core the apples and cut them into thick wedges. Toss with the cinnamon sugar and the lemon zest until every piece is coated.
Scatter the breadcrumbs over the base — they drink up the apple juices and keep the crust crisp. Fill the case with the apples, pressing them in lightly; they will settle as they bake.
Roll the remaining dough into a rectangle and cut it into strips about 1.5 cm wide. Lay half the strips across the taart, then weave the rest through at right angles into an open lattice.
Brush the lattice and the rim with the rest of the beaten egg for a deep, glossy shine.
Bake for 60–70 minutes at 175°C (fan 160°C) until deep golden brown. Cool in the tin for at least an hour — the filling needs it to set.

From the chef’s notebook

Swap a handful of the apples for raisins soaked in rum, the way it is done in Noord-Holland. The taart keeps for three days under a tea towel — never in the fridge, where the crust turns soft. Serve barely warm, with lightly whipped cream and strong black coffee.