Re: Alvara's flat apple pie
I wonder if Alvara's apple pie with an iced flat crust could be the apple jacks of my neck of the woods. The top and bottom crust is pate sucree, a flour-butter-egg-sugar paste, rolled out about 1/4" thick and set in a sheet pan. The apple filling is about an inch and a half thick with enough thickener to discourage any weeping. A thin powdered-sugar/milk glaze is brushed on top of the baked jack. Most of the time, the filling is apple; occassionally it's crushed pineapple, cherry, or blueberry. Of the other flavors, pineapple is the most frequent alternate. The jack is cut into bars, about 2" x 3". The soft crust (not flaky) is strong enough to hold the bar in hand and the filling firm enough to stay put but not rubbery. I buy the apple jacks at a small Italian bakery; his are superb.
Hi GGB - Sounds like another very close variation of Alvara's, which seems to be called apple slab. Someone probably thought apple jacks had more of a ring to it! I'm going to give these a try very soon and will let you all know what I come up with- PJH
August 23, 2008 at 11:32pm