Tourtiere (Apple, prune and Armagnac tart)

Preparation

1. Step 1

   To prepare the tourtiere you will need a large, round, shallow baking pan; a 16-inch paella pan is perfect.

2. Step 2

   Peel the apples, quarter them and slice very thin. In a mediumsize saucepan combine the apples, ½ cup sugar and ¼ cup water and cook over medium-high heat until quite dry, or for about 20 minutes. Set aside.

3. Step 3

   Meanwhile, combine the prunes and Armagnac and allow them to marinate while the apples cook.

4. Step 4

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

5. Step 5

   Dampen a large cloth towel and drape it over the phyllo dough to prevent it from drying out.

6. Step 6

   Drain the prunes and combine them with the cooked apples. Reserve the Armagnac or rum.

7. Step 7

   Using a pastry brush, lightly oil the bottom and sides of the baking pan.

8. Step 8

   Place the tourtiere in the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, then reduce the oven temperature to 300 and cook an additional hour. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve either hot, at room temperature or gently reheated, cutting into pie-shaped wedges.

9. Step 10

   Spoon the apple-and-prune mixture in a single layer on top of the fourth sheet of dough, covering the bottom and sides of the pastry. Be sure to keep the unused phyllo dough covered as you continue to work.

10. Step 11

    Continue with the rest of the phyllo dough, layering sheet by sheet, covering each sheet with a sprinkling of sugar and a sprinkling of Armagnac, until you have used all the sugar, Armagnac and dough. Use about 10 sheets, or layers, in all.

11. Step 12

    Trim off any overlapping pastry from the edges so they are even and sprinkle the trimmings on top of the last layer of pastry.

12. Assemble the Tourtiere

    1. Step 9

       Center one sheet of phyllo dough in the baking pan and sprinkle generously with sugar and Armagnac. Do this three more times until you have four sheets of phyllo.