Custard Apple Tart

• 2/3 cup flour (scooped and leveled)
• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 ounces chilled butter cut into 1/4 inch bits
• 1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable shortening
• 2 1/2 to 3 Tbsp cold water

• 1 lb firm cooking apples (Golden delicious)
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sifted flour
• 3 Tbsp Calvados (apple brandy) or cognac
• Powdered sugar in a shaker
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

Making the Tart Shell

1. Place the flour in the bowl, mix in the sugar and salt.
2. Rub the flour and the fat together rapidly between the tips of your fingers until the fat is broken into pieces the size of oatmeal flakes.
3. Add the water and blend quickly with one hand, rapidly gathering the dough into a mass. Sprinkle up to 1 Tbsp more water by droplets over any unmassed remains and add them to the main body of the dough. Then press the dough firmly into a roughly shaped ball.
4. Place the dough on a lightly floured pastry board. With the heel of your hand, not the palm, which is too warm, rapidly press the pastry down away from you in a firm, quick smear of about 6 inches.
5. With a scraper or spatula, gather the dough again into a mass; knead it briefly into a smooth round ball. Sprinkle it lightly with flour and wrap it into waxed paper. Refrigerate for about 2 hours or overnight.
6. Roll out the dough as quickly as possible, as it quickly softens and becomes difficult to handle. Place the dough on a lightly floured board or marble. Knead it briefly into a flat circle. Lightly flour the top of the dough. Place rolling pin across center and roll the pin back and forth with firm but gentle pressure. Lift the dough and turn it at slight angle. Give it several rolls, sprinkling the edges to prevent sticking. If the circle is uneven, cut off a too-large portion, moisten the edge of a too-small portion with water, press the two pieces together and smooth them with the rolling pin. The dough should be used as soon as it has been rolled out, so that it will not soften.
7. Butter the inside and the baking sheet of the flan mold, or the cake mold. Unroll the dough over the mold, or fold the dough in half, in half again, then lay it in the mold and unfold it.
8. Press the dough lightly into the bottom, then lift the edges and work gently down the inside edges of mold with your fingers. Trim off excess dough by rolling the pin over the top of the mold.
9. Then with your thumb, push the dough 1/8 inch above the edge of the mold, to make an even, rounded rim all around the inside circle of the mold. Press a decorative edge around the rim of the pastry with the dull edge of a knife.
10. To keep the sides of the pastry shell from collapsing and the bottom from puffing, line the pastry with buttered foil, or buttered brown paper, press it well against the sides of the pastry, and fill it with dried beans. The weight of the beans will hold the pastry against the mold during the baking.
11. For a partially cooked shell : Bake at the middle level of a preheated to 400-degree oven for 8 to 9 minutes until pastry is set. Remove foil and beans. Prick bottom of pastry with a fork to keep it from rising. Return to oven for 2 to 3 minutes more. When the shell is starting to color and just beginning to shrink from sides of mold, remove it from the oven. If it seems to you that the far edges of the shell are fragile, or are liable to crack or leak with the weight of the filling to come, do not unmold until your tart is finally baked.
12. For a fully cooked shell : Bake 7 to 10 minutes more, or until the shell is very lightly browned.
13. Unmolding : When the shell is done, unmold it and slip it onto a rack to prevent it from getting soggy.

Preparing the Filling

1. Quarter, core, and peel the apples. Cut into 1/8-inch lengthwise slices. You should have about 3 cups. Toss them in a bowl with the 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon, then arrange them in the pastry shell. Bake in upper third of preheated to 375 degrees oven for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool while preparing the custard.
2. Beat the egg and 1/3 cup sugar together in a mixing bowl until the mixture is thick, pale yellow. Beat in 1/4 cup flour, then the cream and the brandy. Pour the mixture over the apples. It should come about the top of the pastry shell.
3. Return to oven for 10 minutes, or until cream begins to puff. Sprinkle heavily with powdered sugar and return to oven for 15 minutes more. Tart is done when top has browned and a needle or knife plunged into the custard comes out clean.
4. Slide tart onto a rack or serving dish, and keep warm until ready to serve.