Maple Apple Tart

PASTRY:

¾ cup brown rice flour
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon soy flour
¼ cup tapioca flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons pure maple sugar
7 tablespoons (very cold) Earth Balance Buttery spread (dairy free) or Earth Balance shortening, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons cold water (more or less, as needed)


GLAZE:
1/3 cup apricot preserves
2 teaspoons water

FILLING:

Approximately 4 medium sized Granny Smith apples (or 5 smaller apples)
4 tablespoons pure maple sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon Earth Balance shortening

In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients for the pastry and mix well. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture (or mix with 2 forks), until it looks like coarse meal. Slowly add 1 tablespoon of the water, letting it trickle along the edges of the bowl (not in the center). Start to press the mixture together, adding more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the dough clings together into a ball. With a roller, roll the dough on waxed paper into a circle, to fit a 9 inch (ungreased) tart pan; (if dough is sticky, dust lightly with cornstarch or tapioca flour). Press the dough to coat the bottom and sides of the pan, and prick all over with the tines of a fork. Bake in the lower third of a pre-heated 375 degree oven about 15 minutes, or until golden brown (cover loosely with aluminum foil if it browns too quickly). Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Combine the apricot preserves and the 2 teaspoons water in a small saucepan and cook on high heat about 1-2 minutes, until the mixture melts together and thins slightly. With a pastry brush, brush the bottom and sides of the crust to coat; reserve the remaining apricot preserves to coat the top of the tart later.

In a small bowl, combine the maple sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon, and mix well. Set aside. Pour the lemon in a large bowl. Peel the apples; then quarter 1 apple, core it, and cut the quarters into thin slices (about ¼ inch). Place the slices immediately into the bowl with the lemon juice, and toss to coat. Repeat with remaining apples (this prevents browning). Pour the sugar-cornstarch mixture over the apples, and coat well. Lay the apples in the baked tart shell, starting along the outside edge, forming a pinwheel pattern all the way around. Then lay the next layer closer to the center, overlapping the first layer slightly. There will be a small space in the center; fill with some pieces of cut apple, making a rosebud design. With a rubber spatula, scrape the bottom of the bowl and pour the juices over the apples in the tart. Dot the top of the tart with 1 tablespoon shortening. Cover loosely with aluminum foil, and bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven approximately 50-55 minutes, or until the apple is cooked all the way and the filling is set and slightly bubbly. Re-heat the apricot preserves over the stove, and glaze the top of the tart liberally with a pastry brush. Remove tart from pan and cut into wedges to serve. Makes 1 9-in. tart