To make short crust pastry. The following ingredients should make two tarts, each sufficient for 6 people:
½ lb. cooking fat (Trex or Cookeen)
1 lb. plain flour
Cold water for mixing - about ¼ pint
A pinch of salt
Rub fat into flour with finger tips until mixture looks like breadcrumbs, having first sifted the flour with a pinch of salt. Add about ½ - ⅔ of the water and mix quickly with a knife. Press together with fingers a ding the extra water if necessary to give a hall of firm dough that leaves the sides of the bowl quite clean.
To make the tart. Peel, core and cut apples into fairly thin slices. Mix with blackberries and 3-4 oz. sugar to 1 lb. fruit mixture. Fill pie-dish well and add very little water. (May not be necessary..) Flour board and roll out pastry to about ¼-inch thickness. Cut strips wide enough just to cover rim of pie-dish. Damp rim and lay the strips on. Damp these and cover the fruit with the pastry. Press cover pastry to the edge strips and trim it to the shape of the pie dish with a knife. Decorate the edge with knife or fork and make vent slits. Bake tart in a moderately hot oven (380° F to 400° F) for 40 minutes at least, or until pastry is golden brown and you can see the fruit juice bubbling up through vents. Sprinkle caster sugar on top and serve with cream. Blackcurrants, damsons, greengages make delicious tarts too. Fruit tarts straight from the oven are quite my favourite afters.