Ontario Apple and Local Jam Puff Pastry Tart

"The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart; She gives me cream with all her might, to eat with apple-tart." Robert Louis Stevenson

Hmm, I guess cows were red and white a couple hundred years ago...? I don't get it!
Anyhoo, hello followers! Today I am back to say that I have gotten all of my work done and I am currently patting myself on the back. I got my 'Sideroads' article and photos in a day before my deadline! And you know, working on spring inspired recipes has got me longing for the next season. It also gave me an idea about my next blogging adventure, but you'll just have to wait til next week to find out more about that! I also sent in my bio to the MOCCA board with hopes that knowing a little bit more about my credentials will suade them to hire me for the 300 ppl catering coming up in April! Lastly, the baby shower for my nephew Evan James Visheau was a lovely afternoon and the snacks were delish! Along with my contributions, my Aunt Deb brought her crowd pleasing spinach dip, Aunt Julie brought her classic devilled eggs and my Aunt Barb brought a yummy orzo salad! My Mum made cupcakes with blue icing, decorated with mini rubber duckies and tiny baby bottles. She then displayed them in her tiered cupcake stand and it was so, so cute! Just perfect for a shower! Among the food I made were the apple tarts that I had done for the MOCCA catering a couple of weeks ago. Locally grown apples can be found at any grocery store and jam made with last year's summer fruit, go perfectly together. The tarts are so easy to make and are so perfect for this time of year, that I just had to share the recipe. For both parties, I served the tarts with creme friache, so I thought I 'd throw in that recipe as well! Wow, two recipes for the price of one! Crazy!

Simple and Tasty Recipe:

Ontario Apple and Local Jam Puff Pastry Tart
(serves 6)

1 piece puff pastry
2 apples
1/4 cup jam, any flavour
1 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp sugar

.preheat the oven to 375 degrees
.core the apples and thinly slice, place in a bowl of water with a squeezed half lemon to prevent browning
.roll out the puffy pastry on a floured surface into a large square, 1/4 cm thick, cut in half and place the pieces on parchment lined trays
. fold the edges in by about a centimetre and with a fork dipped in flour, push down the edge to create a boarder
.spread the jam in the centre of the pastry
.drain the apple slices and arrange, overlapping, down the centre of the pastry, brush the apples with the melted butter and sprinkle with the sugar
.place in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 mins (if left too long, the overflowing juices will burn)
.serve warm or at room temperature with creme fraiche...

Creme Fraiche:

sour cream
35% cream

.whisk together EQUAL PARTS of the creams, cover and leave on the counter overnight to thicken
.refrigerate until needed

There you go! Easy or what?! Now, I prefer to use the 'President's Choice' puff pastry because it is made with butter and already rolled out. Two pieces come in each package and for your convenience, they are rolled in parchment paper which can be use to bake with. How handy! For the MOCCA catering, I used fig jam. For today's tart, I used gooseberry jam made from last summer's harvest. Any jam would do. I prefer to use McIntosh apples, but you can use whatever apples you like. I think I will make this recipe again in the fall with locally grown pears. Wouldn't that be nice? Well my followers, have a great weekend and I'll be back next week with a whole new adventure... Ha ha! How exciting!

Photos courtesy of Emily Andrus