For all those expats in the Netherlands who want to make their own truly Dutch Appeltaart
Nothing smells as good as a warm Dutch Appeltaart when it comes to the table. Cinnamon, brown sugar, apples, and sweet pastry. Mmmmm.
Remember to protect your table by placing a heatproof mat underneath with Mo the mat family.
The quilted diamond stitching on each mat in the family of 3 is inspired by the lattice decoration of the appeltaart.
Check out the recipe for Dutch Appeltaart below, translated loosely from the Nieuw Margriet Kookboek
Mo the mat family is ideal for presenting your Dutch Appeltaart while it is still hot. Made from upcycled new windmill sailcloth. What could be more Dutch than that?
Matches perfectly with coffee served in Heinen Delfts Blauw mugs.
dutch appeltaart
shortcrust pastry
300g plain flour
200g butter, cut into small pieces
Pinch of salt
125g caster sugar
1 small egg
Sift the flour and work the butter and sugar quickly, but thoroughly, through with cool hands.
Add an egg to this mixture, as well as the pinch of salt.
Mix this with the hands till it changes from a crumbly mixture to a single ball.
Place this ball in the fridge for half an hour before you use it.
appeltaart
6 decent-sized green apples, ideally Granny Smiths
4 heaped tbs brown sugar
1tsp vanilla sugar
2tsp cinnamon, preferably Dutch cinnamon
2tbs raisins
2tbs currants
2 rusks (beschuiten)
1 egg
Prepare the pastry and divide this into two portions, where one is four times larger than the other. Roll the larger piece of dough out on a lightly floured surface and cover the surface and sides of a flat based, spring form tin which has been lightly greased. Roll out the smaller piece and cut in small strips for the lattice on top. Set these aside.
Peel and quarter the apples, removing the cores. Cut them into small, thin pieces. Mix the brown sugar, vanilla sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle this over the apple pieces. Mix the currants and raisins evenly through the apple mixture.
Crush the rusks finely, and scatter over the pastry base.
Fill the taart with the apple mixture and weave the trellis of pastry strips on the top. Keep a couple of strips aside to lay around the edge to finish it off nicely. Brush the pastry lightly with the beaten egg, and use it particularly to stick the outer edge down.
Set the taart in a pre-heated moderately warm oven (120° to 175° C) for 45 to 55 minutes. The pastry top should be a lovely golden colour.
Allow to cool a little before you take it out of the spring form.
Ideally serve warm, but it can also be prepared in advanced and served cold. Appeltaart is often accompanied by thick cream, but this is not necessary. And don’t forget the hot piping cups of coffee.
Loosely translated from the 1978 edition of the Nieuw Margriet Kookboek, published by De Geillustreerde Pers, Amsterdam