There is something magical about making your own flaky
pastry especially without the challenges that follow the wrapping a block of
butter. Hungarian Flaky Pastry is the easiest things to make; it is not nearly
as complicated as making puff pastry. And yet it is flaky and tastes wonderful.
Like most things, commercial puff pastry doesn’t taste as good as it used to,
so all the more reason to make your own pastry. I used a half a batch of
Hungarian Flaky Pastry with 1 Granny Smith apple and a large stick of freshly
cut rhubarb. I started to reduce the sugary fruit juice to combine it
with the apricot jam for the glaze, but it burned. Such as life!
These tarts are so good you cannot have just one slice.
Hence the small batch, only 8 pastries, plus as the case with all pastries,
they are best on the day they are made.
APPLE RHUBARB TARTS
1/2 batch of Hungarian Flaky Pastry click on link for the
recipe
1 Granny Smith apple
1 large stick of rhubarb
1/4 + 1/4 cups sugar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 + 1/4 cups sugar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/3 cup apricot jam
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Assemble the pastry and roll it out.
- Fold, warp and chill pastry for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile chop the rhubarb stick into 4 to 6 segments.
- Thinly slice the segments lengthwise.
- Place in a bowl and toss with 1/4 cup of sugar. Set aside
- Peel, core and thinly slice the apple.
- Place in a bowl and toss with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Set aside.
- Roll out the pastry into a large rectangle and cut into 8 squares. The sides will not be perfect squares.
- With a sharp knife, cut lines around to mark the edges: this will help the puff pastry rise at the border. Don't cut through the dough.
- Place the baking sheet in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile drain the fruit and discard the juices. [If you are willing to stand by the stove to reduce the liquid, you can use it to mix into the apricot jam for the glaze at the end. This is optional.]
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Remove the baking sheet with the pastry squares from the fridge.
- Arrange the apple and rhubarb slices in the center of each square.
- Bake the tarts in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until the crust is golden.
- Remove tarts from the oven and immediately brush them all over with the apricot jam. If for some reason you have to glaze the tarts later, lightly heat up the jam in the microwave so it’s spreadable.
- The tarts are ready to enjoy.
