Apple Hertzoggies

Purée

1. Place all the ingredients in a pot and bring to the boil over medium heat.
2. Reduce the heat and simmer with a lid for 15 minutes or until the apples are cooked. Remove cinnamon stick.
3. Blend apples to a purée with a stick blender or in a food processor – it makes quite a thick purée.
4. Allow purée to cool down and prepare any of the ideas below. Or freeze for later use. Small cubes of apple purée are perfect to use in smoothies or to add sweetness to a mince mixture, any tomato-based sauces or one-pot dishes.

Hertzoggies

1. Preheat oven to 220 °C. Lightly grease a muffin or tartlet pan with the holes about 6 cm wide.
2. Place pastry on a lightly floured work surface and roll out slightly thinner.
3. Using a cookie cutter, cut pastry in 12 circles of about 1 cm bigger in diameter than the holes of the pan.
4. Line each hole with a piece of pastry and gently shape onto the base and press against the sides. Prick each piece of pastry a few times with a fork – it allows steam to escape and result in a better crust for the tartlets.
5. Line each pastry with a small piece of foil, shiny side towards the pasty and fill with dried beans.
6. Bake (this process is called blind baking) for 10 minutes or until the pastries are light golden brown and cooked – take care not to overbake them, as they could become too hard.
7. Reduce oven temperature to 160 °C. Remove foil and allow pastries to cool down slightly.
8. Divide purée between pastry cases and smooth on top.
9. Meringue: Place egg whites in a dry, clean glass bowl and whisk with an electric beater until soft peaks (that folds over easily) form when the beater is lifted from the mixture.
10. Continue to beat while adding sugar in two batches. Beat until the egg whites are glossy and have reached stiff peak stage (peaks stay upright), when the beater is removed.
11. Gently fold coconut with a metal spoon into the meringue, without losing the air in the mixture.
12. Divide meringue between tartlets and shape with the back of a teaspoon to form small points.
13. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until meringue is light golden brown. Remove from pan, allow to cool and serve as dessert or a tea-time treat.

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