Swedish Manor House Apple Torte (Herregardstarta)

Instructions

Measure flour into mixing bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with the steel blade. Cut butter into slices and rub into flour, or process until mixture is the texture of coarse crumbs. Add salt, sugar, egg, and water; mix or process until dough forms. Wrap dough in plastic and chill about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Divide dough into 2 parts and roll each part to make a circle 12 inches in diameter. Fit 1 circle into a lightly greased 10-inch springform pan, bringing up the edge inside the pan about 1 inch all around. Pare, core, and slice the apples. Lay in an even circle on top of the pastry in the pan, overlapping slices; make two layers of apples and sprinkle each layer with half of the sugar, raisins, and nuts. Top with second round of pastry. Press pastry around edges to seal to the bottom layer of pastry.

Cream the butter and sugar for the topping and add the chopped nuts. Spread this over the top crust and pierce all over with a fork. Place pan on another large rimmed pan to catch any butter that may ooze out between pieces of the springform pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until golden brown. Cool to room temperature. Dust with powdered sugar if desired. Serve plain or softly whip the cream with the powdered sugar and spread over the torte.

*To toast nuts, spread on a baking sheet. Place in oven set at 300 F. Bake 5 to 10 minutes until toasted.

Author's Comments

The buttery crust holds in the juices of the apples; if you cut into this torte when it is still steaming hot, they almost burst out. It is, however, best to cool the torte before serving so flavors have time to meld. Select apples that are tart, flavorful, but not overly juicy. As is typical of many European apple tortes, there is no thickening agent mixed with the apples to cloud the rich flavors.

The Great Scandinavian Baking Book.

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