Cream Apple Tart

A scrumptious creamy custard filled tart baked inside a sweet crust and topped with baked golden apples. This cool dessert taste fabulous after a long hot day. It is best to use granny smith apples when baking because they tend to hold their shape better than most apples.

Crust:
1 1/2 cups (all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Filling:
3 granny smith apples, sliced
2 cups water
4 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons powdered milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 (170 gram) cans qashta
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Crust: Sift flour and salt together and set aside. Place butter in large mixing bowl and beat until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add beaten egg, beating just until incorporated. Do not over mix.

2. Add flour mixture all at once and mix just until it forms a ball. Do not overwork or pastry will be tough when baked. Dough will be sticky.

3. Flatten dough into disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, turning dough, to prevent it from sticking and to keep its round shape. Do not turn dough over. The dough should be about an inch larger than tart pan.

4. Carefully roll dough around rolling pin. Unroll onto tart pan. Never pull or stretch dough, as it will shrink away from pan. Lightly press dough into bottom and sides of pan. Roll your rolling pin over top of pan to get rid of excess dough. Prick bottom of dough. Place in refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill.

5. Fill piecrust with pie weights (I use 2 cups rice). Bake crust in a 400 F oven for 25 minutes until crust is light brown. Remove weights and cool crust on wire rack before filling.

6. Filling: In a saucepan on medium heat, add water, milk, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla. Whisk until mixture thickens up. Remove from heat add qashta and mix well. Pour mix into prepared tart crust. Arrange apple slices equally as shown on mix, after it cools. Bake on 350 F for 20 minutes.

Yields: 1 (28 cm) tart