Recipe for Tarta de Manzana
This year the local trees have thrown more apples at us than we knew what to do with. After pondering chutneys, crumbles, and every preserve under the sun, my partner, who is the baker in the house, went for cake. Not just any cake, though. This is the tarta de manzana, the Spanish apple tart we grew fond of back when we lived in Spain, and still feel a bit nostalgic for. It’s nothing like the English apple cake or the neat French tarts you might know. This one bakes into a soft, pudding-like base, almost custardy, with apple slices fanned on top and finished with that signature glossy glaze of apricot jam. Simple, homely, and the sort of thing that disappears faster than you’d expect.
Ingredients
- 250 ml milk
- 2 eggs
- 220 g plain flour
- 200 g sugar
- 4 apples (3 for the batter, 1 for the topping) – depends on size
- Apricot jam (We used plum jam)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a round cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
- Peel and core 3 apples, then cut into chunks. Put them in a blender with the milk, eggs, flour, and sugar. Blend until smooth – you’re looking for a thick, pourable batter with a custardy base.
- Pour the mixture into the tin.
- Peel and core the remaining apple, then slice thinly. Arrange the slices neatly over the top of the batter, fanning them out in a circle.
- Bake for about 80 minutes, until the top is golden and a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean.
- While the cake is still warm, melt a few spoonfuls of apricot jam in a small pan (or microwave) with a splash of water. Brush it generously over the apples so they’re glossy.
- Leave to cool completely in the tin before slicing.
