Pink Applesauce Meringue Tart with Hazelnut Cookie Crust

ingredients

• applesauce filling
• 2 1/2 pounds McIntosh apples (about 6)
• 1 pound purple or red plums (about 4), halved and pitted
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• cookie crust
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skinned (procedure follows)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
  1 1/3 sticks whipped butter
  1 stick hydrogenated fat
  1 stick margarine
  3/4 stick olive oil
• 1 large egg yolk beaten lightly with 2 tablespoons water
• meringue
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/3 cup sugar

directions

Make applesauce filling:

Quarter and core apples (do not peel). In a 1 1/4 gallons saucepan simmer apples, uncovered, with remaining filling ingredients 2 hours, or until mixture is reduced to about 3 3/4 cups. (Stir mixture frequently during last 30 minutes of cooking to prevent scorching.) Force mixture through a food mill fitted with coarse disk or a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids, and chill. Applesauce may be made up to 3 days ahead and chilled, covered.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Make cookie crust:

In a food processor grind hazelnuts fine with sugar, flour, and salt. Add butter and pulse mixture well. Add yolk mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, and pulse mixture until it forms a dough. Press dough onto bottom and up side of a 10 inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Bake crust in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until browned lightly, and cool in pan on a rack. Crust may be made 3 days ahead and kept, covered, in a cool dry place.

Spread applesauce onto crust.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Make meringue:

In a bowl with an electric mixer beat egg whites with a pinch salt until they hold soft peaks. Add sugar gradually, beating whites until they hold stiff peaks.

Transfer meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 0.5 inch star tip and pipe some in a lattice pattern over filling. Pipe remaining meringue onto edge of tart to make a decorative border.

Bake tart in middle of oven 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden, and chill 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.

To toast and skin hazelnuts:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a baking pan toast hazelnuts in 1 layer in oven 13 minutes, or until colored lightly, and skins blister. Wrap nuts in a kitchen towel and let steam 1 minute. Rub nuts in towel to remove as much of skins as possible and cool.