A sweet memory and recipe from Gem Brand Ambassador, Jolene Cox and her daughter Lil’s:
Mammy always talks about apple tart being such a treat when she was growing up. Seeing the tarts cooling on the windowsill meant it was going to be a good evening.
When she chats about those days, she remembers playing card games with the neighbours and Granny reading books to them. Baking was simple, usually an apple or rhubarb tart. We call them tarts in Ireland because, growing up, pies always had a meat filling!
Back then, they simply called them “cooking apples.” We are so lucky that we can still buy those very same apples today, Armagh Bramley apples. They are perfect for our tart because they soften and break down beautifully as they bake. We simply sprinkle Gem granulated sugar over the apples. No cinnamon or nutmeg is needed.
Traditionally, regular spoons from the cutlery drawer were used for measuring, and the tart was baked on an ordinary dinner plate. Just make sure the plate you use today is safe for oven use.
This is the one recipe I remember Mammy baking when I was growing up, so I think it is the perfect one for us to bake in our Let’s Bake Together For the Next Gem-eration dish. Sure, isn’t that what baking is all about? Home, connection, passing on our traditions and keeping the memories of those special people alive.
Granny Jones was one in a million, and I think she would be delighted to see her name on this recipe.
