Elizabeth Hewson’s tart recipe with caramelised apples and puff pastry
This tart is incredibly versatile; it can be an elegant dessert, a brunch or served for afternoon tea.
This puff pastry open tart is lined with a simple frangipane mixture which is then covered with thinly sliced apples. If you’re not a fan of almonds, you can substitute them with ground hazelnuts. Maple syrup, golden syrup or a jam like apricot (a berry jam will impact the colour) works well for a glaze, giving it that shiny, professional look. I find this tart is incredibly versatile; it can be an elegant dessert, a brunch, or served for afternoon tea with the girls. It’s excellent eaten straight from the oven but also delicious at room temperature. You can lay the apple slices however you like – do what works for you. Here I’ve gone with a grid-like look, but rows look great too.
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RECIPE: A fine apple tart
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen butter puff pastry
- 85g butter, at room temperature
- 75g (½ cup) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup almond meal
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 3 red apples such as Kanzi
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 3 tablespoons apricot jam, maple syrup or golden syrup, to glaze
- Double cream or ice cream, to serve
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180C fan-forced (or 200C conventional). Roll out the pastry sheet on a lined baking tray; trim roughly to a 30cm square and prick all over with a fork, leaving a 2cm border. Keep pastry in fridge while you continue with the recipe.
- Beat butter, brown sugar and vanilla together for about 2 minutes until fluffy and well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat for a further minute. Add cinnamon, almond meal and flour. Beat until you’ve got a smooth paste then pop in the fridge. Cut apples in half, core, and thinly slice; you are looking for about 2½-3mm slices. Squeeze lemon juice over slices to stop them browning.
- Now it’s time to assemble! Spread almond mix over the base of the tart, leaving a 2cm border. Arrange apple slices over almond spread, ensuring you overlap each apple slice by half (for a grid pattern, gather up 6-8 slices and spread them out so they form a square; repeat, turning the apple slice grid each time). Fold in the border of your pastry by half (i.e., 1cm). Brush apples with melted butter and sprinkle over sugar. I also like to brush the pastry border with milk for a glossy look, but this is optional. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the apple edges are browned and the pastry border is puffed and golden. Remove from oven. Heat up either your maple syrup, golden syrup or jam and brush over the apples to give your tart a lovely shine. Serve with double cream or ice cream. Serves 4-6