I made this apple tart as soon as I got home after buying the cooking magazine, ‘Olive’, October, 2015. Since apples are in their prime and I happened to have a bowl of homegrown ones, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to use them. The recipe itself couldn’t be easier to follow. I was really pleased about how this came out, but if I were to make it again, I would sprinkle the apples with cinnamon and add some sultanas, artistically, of course.

Ingredients

300g puff pastry (I used a ready rolled pack)

Plain flour for dusting

50g ground almonds

50g butter at room temperature

50g caster sugar

3-4 apples

1 lemon

1 egg beaten

4 tablespoons apricot jam

Splash of water

Directions

• Heat the oven to 190°C/ fan 170°C/ gas 5.
• Roll out the pastry to the thickness of a 20p piece and use a plate approx 25cm in diameter to cut around with a knife. Transfer the pastry to a baking sheet.
• Gently mark a border approx 1cm from the edge. Don’t cut all the way through the pastry.
• Mix the butter, ground almonds and the sugar to make the frangipane. Spread a thin layer over the pastry within the border using a palette knife.
• Peel and core the apples, then slice them thinly. Toss in lemon juice to stop them browning.
• Arrange the apples over the frangipane.
• Brush the border with the beaten egg. Gently knock up the edges of the pastry with a sharp knife by loosening the pastry layers so they rise more.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden.
• Heat the apricot jam and water in a small pan until runny then sieve. Brush over the apples while still warm.