A Quarter Tart of Pippins

Caryl de Trecesson (Carol Hanson)

Source: From A new booke of Cookerie by John Murrell, London Cookerie, London, 1615: A quarter Tart of Pippins. Quarter them, and lay them betweene two sheetes of Paste: put in a piece of whole Sinamon, two or three bruised Cloues, a little sliced Ginger, Orrengado, or onely the yellow outside of the Orenge, a bit of sweet Butter about the bignesse of an Egge, good store of Sugar: sprinckle on a little Rosewater. Then close your Tart, and bake it: Jce it before it goe to the Boord, serue it hot. This Tart you may make of any puft-paste, or short paste that will not holde the raising. Jf you bake it in any of these kindes of pastes, then you must first boyle your Pippins in Claret Wine and Sugar, or else your Apples will be hard, when your Crust will be burnt and dryed away. Besides, the Wine giueth them a pleasant colour, and a good taste also. Though you boyle your Pippins tender, take heed you breake not the quarters, but bake them whole. Redaction: 2 commercial puff-pastry sheets 5 small apples (Granny Smith, Northern Spy, Macintosh), pared, cored, cut into 8ths -or- 10 Lady apples, pared, cored, cut into 4ths 1 c. red wine 1/2 c. + 1/4 c. + 2 TB. white granulated sugar 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground cloves 1/4 tsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. grated orange peel 2 TB. butter 1 TB. + 1 TB. rosewater Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Simmer the apples in wine and 1/2 c. sugar for about 15 minutes, till softened. Don't mash the apples but let them hold their shape. Drain the apples and let cool. Grease a baking sheet and lay out one sheet of the puff pastry. Put apples on top; mix the spices and orange peel in 1/4 c. sugar and sprinkle over the apples. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with 1 TB. rosewater, then top with the second sheet of puff pastry. Firmly pinch the edges together, then take a sharp knife and make slits in the top pastry to allow the steam to escape. Bake for 15 minutes. Mix 1 TB. rosewater with 2 TB. sugar and spoon over the top to ice it. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool slightly, and slice. Makes about 16 servings. Comments: A nice change from the traditional apple pies. I cut the apples into eighths instead of quarters on the theory that the Granny Smith apples are larger than pippins, but it might be interesting to make this as a very lumpy pastry with 1/4 apple per serving. I found that butter "the bignesse of an Egge" was too much (if using the size of a modern standard large egg) and made the pastry leak on the sides.

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