five paws up for paddington bear’s apple tart

~ jama

The furry helpers in the Alphabet Soup kitchen are just counting down the days till the new Paddington movie premieres in the U.S. on Christmas Day, which just happens to be Paddington’s winter birthday (he also celebrates June 25).

Though we’re disappointed Colin Firth decided to leave the project, and that the bear in the first movie trailer didn’t quite feel like the same character from the books, we’re still very pleased that Paddington will likely win over millions of new fans.

HarperCollins is re-releasing some of the Paddington novels and picture books, Michael Bond has written a new novel, Love From Paddington (hitting shelves in December), and there’s the wonderful Paddington Trail with 50 bear statues scattered around London. And what about all the coolio movie tie-in merchandise? Yes, please!

New Paddington Bear finger puppets are faboo!
The set comes with Paddington and Aunt Lucy finger puppets, a two-sided backdrop and 24 stickers.

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🍗 PADDINGTON’S COOKERY BOOK 🍗

Needless to say, the resident Paddingtons are beside themselves with excitement. You can work up quite an appetite dancing in your wellies and tossing your brown suitcase in the air every five minutes.

Love that little tongue sticking out!

Thank goodness for Paddington’s Cookery Book! Did you know Paddington took cooking lessons from Mrs. Bird, and that she lent him one of her aprons and found a wooden box for him to stand on so he could reach the stove?

This beary yummy collection of 40+ recipes features lots of adorable illustrations by R.W. Alley, a color photo of every recipe, and is divided into 8 sections:

  • Breakfast
  • Elevenses
  • Portobello Road
  • Aunt Lucy’s Corner
  • Lunch and Dinner Dishes
  • Puddings
  • Summer Holidays
  • Paddington’s Christmas Birthday Party

Of course there’s a recipe for marmalade — as well as Marmalade Chicken Drumsticks, Bread and Butter Pudding with Marmalade (P’s fave), and Sticky Marmalade Sausages.

Marmalade Chicken Drumsticks
Sticky Marmalade Sausages

But there’s also Real Hot Chocolate and Iced Buns, just like Paddington has with Mr. Gruber in the antique shop, several recipes which speak to the ethnic diversity of London (Chicken Paprika, Falafels), and a nod to Paddington’s native Peru (Aunt Lucy sent him recipes for Sweet Potato Mash, Frozen Limonada, Molten Hot Chocolate Sauce). Did you know Peru is the original home of potatoes?

Falafels

I love Paddington’s running commentary that finds its way into section intros, recipe headers and tips. And I do think official Paddington illustrator R.W. Alley has outdone himself with P’s facial expressions and body language: kids will LOVE seeing Paddington peeling cucumbers, mixing batters, flipping pancakes, mashing potatoes and struggling to use chopsticks. Never was a bear so determined to cook or so happy to eat!

The only problem is, how to decide which recipe to try first? Oh, and the recipe photos look so real the bears keep trying to eat the pages.

Sausages and Lentils
Huffkins
Bread and Butter Pudding with Marmalade

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🍎 APPLE TARTS 🍎

It’s Fall, it’s apple season, making these tarts made perfect sense. I confess this might be only the second or third time I’ve used frozen puff pastry and I love it.

Basically you roll out the thawed dough and cut four 5″ diameter circles with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Prick the dough so it won’t puff up (it seemed funny to de-puff the puff pastry). 🙂

A teacup saucer is just about the right size.

Ask your leprechaun sous chef to core and thinly slice four apples (we used two golden delicious, two honey crisp), then fan out the slices so they overlap a little on each dough circle. Brush with butter, sprinkle with sugar, then bake (the recipe said 10-15 minutes but mine took almost 20 minutes).

Once it’s out of the oven, just brush with melted apricot jam + lemon juice. The recipe called for “half a jar of apricot jam” — this could vary widely depending on the size of the jar, obviously — I used about 1/4 jar of Bonne Maman.

Simple to make and so yummy — that slightly crisp edge of the buttery puff pastry, its delicate chewiness married to the I-love-you-autumn fresh apples, a thin coating of jam. Mmmmm! And how cute to have a little apple tart all your own. Perfect for the small paws of your hungry-as-a-bear munchkins.

This recipe makes 4 tarts:

Ingredients:

  • 9 oz. good quality ready-made puff pastry
  • flour, for rolling out
  • 4 eating apples (Braeburn, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious)
  • 3/4 oz. unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons caster sugar
  • 1/2 jar apricot jam
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease the baking tray or line with parchment paper.

2. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry thinly, to about 1/8 inch.

3. Cut round a 5″ diameter plate (or saucer) to make 4 pastry circles.

4. Put the circles on the baking tray and prick them all over with a fork.

5. Peel, core and quarter the apples. Cut them into thin slices and arrange on top of the pastry circles so they overlap. Finish off with 2 slices in the middle of each tart.

6. Melt the butter in a pan and brush all over the tarts. Cover each one with a fine sprinkling of caster sugar.

7. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the pastry is cooked. Any unused pastry can be wrapped in cling film and kept in the fridge for future use.

8. Melt the apricot jam gently in the saucepan, stirring with the wooden spoon (if it’s very chunky, sieve it first). Add the lemon juice and stir well. While it’s still warm, brush the melted jam over the surface of the tarts.

9. Serve warm — ideally with vanilla ice cream.

~ Adapted from Paddington’s Cookery Book by Michael Bond, Lesley Young and R.W. Alley (HarperCollins, 2011).

I love that look of sheer bliss on his face.

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Though this will be the first time Paddington hits the big screen, he’s quite a veteran of television. Just for old time’s sake, watch this short from his 1975 FilmFair TV series (Paddington is a stop-motion animated puppet with narration by Michael Hordern). It shows him dancing to “Singing in the Rain.” So charming!

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❤ Don’t worry, Paddington will be back at Alphabet Soup soon!

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wkendcookingiconThis post is being linked to Beth Fish Read’s Weekend Cooking, where all are invited to share their food-related posts. Brush your fur, clean your paws and come join the fun!

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* Illustrations from Paddington’s Cookery Book copyright © 2011 R.W. Alley. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2014 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.

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32 thoughts on “five paws up for paddington bear’s apple tart”

  1. Your apple tarts look perfect, Jama! You and your sous chef outdid yourselves! I would dearly love some bread and butter pudding with marmalade.

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    1. Yes, I wonder what that would taste like. I’d thought about the possibility of brushing marmalade on the tarts inside of apricot jam. In any case, they were so yummy!

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  2. Pingback: dessert recipe archive | Jama's Alphabet Soup
  3. Pingback: chronological book review archive (2008-2014) | Jama's Alphabet Soup

    1. Mrs. Bird does offer tips throughout (but not for every recipe), while Paddington offers fun asides. She also reveals the secret to making the perfect roast potatoes (a little crispy outside, heavenly inside). 🙂

      I love the Finger Puppets — it’s really a cute play set for little ones. The backdrops are of P’s bedroom and Mr. Gruber’s antique shop.

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  5. I love fall with all the apple recipes, & your tarts look wonderful, Jama, as does this book. The illustrations are so wonderful to see. One of the schools I’ve worked with also runs a pre-school, & you’ll be happy to hear it’s named Paddington Station-a lovely name for them! Thanks for all, & like Tabatha, I have a yen for that bread & butter pudding with marmalade. Looks like this cookbook will be a great Christmas present for my granddaughters!

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    1. Love the name Paddington Station for pre-school! Wouldn’t it be cool of all attendees had to wear duffle coats and hats? 🙂

      This would make a great gift for your granddaughters — especially if they see the movie and everything. You’ll also have to start reading them some Paddington books, if you haven’t already done so.

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  6. I have always loved the old Paddington books; the first two are my absolute favorites. I picked up a couple of more modern picture-book Paddingtons when we were in London three years ago, too. What a charming cookbook for the Paddington lover! 🙂

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  8. They all look delicious!
    I need to find out more about “huffkins” – that’s a new one to me!

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  9. New to me too — they look like jam thumbprint cookies in the picture, but the recipe says they’re a kind of tart. Sounds like they’re soft little buns (you have to let the dough rise) that you top with jam after they’re baked.

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  10. Oh I think I need to have this cookbook! Loved the dumpling video — LOL. The tarts look so good, and perfect for this time of year.

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    1. Paddington Mania will soon sweep the country! The cookbook really is darling, whether you ever make any of the recipes or not. 🙂

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  12. Your posts are always too adorable for words. The tarts look absolutely delicious and while my little one is just a tiny bit too little to appreciate this book, I’m putting it on my list for another year or two. She loves helping me in the kitchen and I think this would make it even more fun for her. And the best part is I have all the ingredients (including the puff pastry!) to make these tarts soon. Mmmm!

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    1. Yes, do make the tarts — they’re simple and very tasty (can’t go wrong with good quality butter). I’m glad you’re thinking of sharing this book with your daughter when she’s older. 🙂

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  15. The tarts are so pretty, like flowers! I’ve always loved Paddington. Wish my kids were a bit younger to enjoy the new movie.

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  17. I was obsessed with the Paddington books growing up, and used to try to eat marmalade like him, though I never acquired a taste for it. But I didn’t know about this cookbook and will order it asap. I agree that the bear in the movie trailer doesn’t seem quite like the one in the books, but it does look like a really fun movie. Thanks for this wonderful post!

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    1. Yay, happy to know you’re also a fan of the Paddington books! I’ve never had any problems liking marmalade myself. 🙂 When we were little, we used to call it “mama legs,” and for awhile I refused to eat it because I thought the shreds in the jar were flesh.

      I’ll be posting the latest Paddington trailer tomorrow; the new computer generated Paddington is starting to grow on me, and though I’m disappointed Colin Firth isn’t voicing him, I look forward to seeing the movie.

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