Apple Tart (Crostata de mele)

Over the past long weekend, the second recipe I attempted was Apple Tart or Crostata de mele (I think this is Italian). Recently, I'm more into pies, breads and tarts, taking a break from cakes and cookies for a while.
Came across the recipe posted by blogger 'She Bakes and She Cooks' and was drawn by its country-style and rustic look. Since I have all the ingredients, the steps look pretty manageable and I quite like apple pies with lots of cinnamon, why not?
I start with shortcrust pastry since this needs to chill for at least an hour.
Shortcrust pastry:

• 225g plain flour
• 100g self-raising flour
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 60ml full-fat milk (I use low fat milk)
• 2 egg yolks

Steps:

• Mix the flours, sugar and butter in an electric mixer using dough hook (original recipe - mix in food processor).
• Add milk and egg yolks. Dough will form. If dough is too wet, add a little more flour.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough till smooth.
• Wrap in clingwrap and place in chiller for an hour.

Next, the apple filling.
Filling:

• 5 red apples (original recipe - golden delicious or granny smith apples, but I only have red apples in the fridge)
• 50g unsalted butter
• 4 Tbs honey
• Cinnamon according to preference (original recipe - a pinch)

Steps:

• Peel and core the apples, then cut into 8 pieces. (The apple slicer from Ikea is perfect for this!)
• Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, and when it begins to froth and brown, add the apple and cook until brown and softened; about 5-10 minutes depending on the ripeness of the apples.
• Add the honey and cinnamon, reduce heat to medium-low and stir continuously for about 10-15 minutes or until the apples are golden and caramelized. Cool to room temperature.

Combine:

• Preheat oven to 180 degree celcius.
• Grease a 24cm loose-bottomed tart pan.
• Once dough has rested, roll out on a lightly floured surface to 5 mm thick and line pan with pastry. (I have to work pretty fast with the dough as my house is pretty warm and humid; dough tends to soften and break quite easily)
• Place cooled apples into pastry shell.
• Cut remaining pastry into 1cm-wide, long strips to make a lattice and place over the pastry shell and apple filling.
• Bake 30-35 minutes.
• Dust with icing sugar before serving with ice cream or cream. (optional)

Apple tart before baking. The apple filling tastes even good on its own :d~~~

Apple tart fresh from the oven. The aroma of the buttery shortcrust pastry smells heavenly, along with the honey & cinnamon-coated apples :d~~~

Humble, country-style apple tart.Couldn't wait for the apple tart to cool down completely, and helped myself to a slice. The apple was cooked perfectly with honey; I liked it that I could bite into bits of apples, instead of mashed apples. Though I added lots of cinnamon already, the taste and smell still wasn't distinct enough to my liking. Must add more next time! The pastry was sweet and texture just like, shortcrust pastry. The thickness at the bottom was okay, but I though the sides were a little too thick.

Was quite happy with my first attempt of the apple tart, I guess I could possibly attempt other tart or pie recipes like banana tart, pumpkin pie...