Rustic Apple Flan

Vegetarian

Serves 8 people

45 min prep

25 min cook

This rustic flan is easy to prepare and makes for a delicious dessert when served with ice cream or whipped cream. Toasted slivered almonds or coconut flakes can also be sprinkled on top of the flan, to serve.
If you are making the glaze at the same time as the flan, you can add the pulp to the apple mixture before transferring it into to base.

By Martyna Angell, Wholesome Cook

Desserts

Ingredients

Flan

2 cups Plain flour
3/4 cup Icing sugar
200g Butter, diced
2 Tbsp Iced water
500g Apple
10g Butter
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Water
1 Tbsp Anathoth Farm Apricot Jam
1/4 cup Raisins
1/3 cup Apricot Jam Pastry Glaze

Pastry Glaze

1/2 cup Anathoth Farm Apricot Jam
1/4 cup Water
1 Tbsp Lemon juice
1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon

Method

Flan

Place flour, icing sugar and diced cold butter into a food processor and pulse until fine breadcrumbs form. Add ice-cold water and pulse until dough forms. Gather the dough together using your hands and form into a ball. Cover with plastic film and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to chill.
Preheat oven to 180°C.
In the meantime prepare the filling: wash apples and cut into wedges (roughly eights), remove cores. Place butter in a medium saucepan and melt over medium heat. Add apples and cook for a couple of minutes to caramelise, sprinkle over with cinnamon powder. Add water, orange zest, Apricot Jam and raisins, if using. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook partly covered for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent the apples from sticking to the bottom. Once apples are beginning to soften, turn off the heat and allow them to cool.
Remove pastry from fridge and roll out between two sheets of baking paper, to about 1cm thick.
Grease the sides of a 23cm loose base flan/quiche tin with extra butter and line the base with some baking paper. Peel one of the sheets off the pastry and flip the pastry into the tin, pressing gently into the base and sides. Run your rolling pin over the top of the tin to remove any overhangs. Place the tin back in the fridge for 10 minutes. Gather scraps and place back in the fridge – you can use them to decorate the top of the flan.
Once chilled prick base with a fork and line with baking paper. Top with pie weights or dried beans or rice. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush on the glaze. Transfer the apple filling into the base and top with any excess pastry rolled into strips. Brush the strips with glaze. Return the flan to the oven and bake for a further 10-15 minutes, or until the sides of the flan are becoming golden.
Remove from oven and stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Serve with a scoop of vanilla or caramel ice cream, whipped cream or custard.

Pastry Glaze

Place Apricot Jam, water, lemon juice and spices in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Heat, stirring, until mixture is beginning to “melt” and appears runny.
Carefully pour mixture into a sieve set over a bowl and strain, pressing with a spoon to get all the glaze out. Brush glaze onto base of par-baked pastry to stop filling juices from soaking into the crust, or glaze other bakery items before baking.
Transfer leftover strained glaze into an airtight container and store in the fridge.

Tips

The addition of cinnamon or cloves to the glaze is optional, but goes really well in apple-filled pastries, pies and tarts.
Leftover glaze can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few weeks – reheat, adding a little water, as needed.