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Monitor's Tart
Make three-quarters of a pound of good puff-paste, observing the proportions of three-quarters of a pound of butter to one pound of flour. Divide in two portions, roll out one half to about a quarter of an inch thick, and cut it round with a tin cutter. Well flour the pastry, and transfer it to the oven-leaf, which should be quite cold. Fill the tart with a compote of apples, prepared in the following manner. Stew in a clean saucepan until they are tender but not broken, one pound of apples, cut into quarters (pared and cored), with a quarter of a pound of lump sugar, one ounce of butter, and a little powdered cinnamon. The fruit must not be put into the crust until cold. When placing it be careful to leave a margin an inch in depth all round. Roll out the other half of the crust, and lay it carefully over the apples. Brush the edges with the white of an egg, and press them well together, that the juice may not escape. Brush over the outside with the white of an egg, and sift a little sugar over it, and a few finely-chopped almonds. Bake in a mode-rate oven for three-quarters of an hour. Time to stew the apples, fifteen to twenty minutes. Sufficient for six or seven persons.
A double-crust apple tart built on a rich puff paste, baked flat on a sheet rather than in a dish. The instructions are sound; only the vocabulary and the oven need translating.
- Moderate ovenRead this as 350-375F (175-190C). Three-quarters of an hour is right for a tart of this size.
- The oven-leaf"Oven-leaf" appears to mean the flat iron baking sheet or plate that slid into the oven. Use a heavy baking sheet, and note the instruction that it be quite cold — a warm sheet melts the butter layers before the pastry can rise.
- The hinge: cold fillingThe apples must be completely cold before they go on the pastry, as the recipe insists. Warm compote softens the butter in the paste and the bottom crust will not laminate. Chill the compote thoroughly, ideally in the refrigerator.
- Puff paste proportionsThree-quarters of a pound of butter to one pound of flour is a full puff paste — about 12 oz butter to 1 lb (roughly 3 1/2 cups) flour. Three-quarters of a pound of finished paste is around 340 g, which all-butter shop-bought puff will substitute for adequately.
- Lump sugarLump sugar was refined loaf sugar broken into pieces; ordinary granulated sugar is the equivalent. A quarter pound is about 1/2 cup, which suits sharp cooking apples such as Bramley or Granny Smith and can be reduced for sweeter varieties.
- Stewing the applesFifteen to twenty minutes over low heat with the lid on, and stop while the quarters still hold their shape — the recipe wants tender, not broken. Add a spoonful of water at the start if the pan seems dry, since 1 lb of apples with only an ounce of butter can catch.
- Egg white as glue and glazeThe white seals the two crusts and, brushed on top with sugar and almonds, gives a crisp sweet crackle. Press the inch-wide margin firmly and crimp it; a leak will scorch on the sheet and drain the tart.
- YieldSix or seven portions as stated. Serve just warm or at room temperature, with cream.
The name borrows a term from the nineteenth-century English school, where a monitor was the senior boy given authority over a form or dormitory, though how the dish came by the word is not recorded. The construction is a covered flat tart, baked on a sheet rather than in a mould, and Cassell's places it under the principles of pastry-making. It shows the late-Victorian household cook working with a full puff paste as a matter of routine, with apples stewed with sugar, butter and cinnamon as the filling.