An apple tart

Autumn

I like to make my own rough puff pastry for this traditional French apple tart. The results are very similar to a classic puff, but it’s much quicker to make. The pastry is covered with a layer of fragrant, brambly apple compôte, which I like to perfume with lemon zest and bay as it bubbles away gently in the pan. It should have an almost fluffy texture when cooked. Finally, the compôte gets topped by thinly sliced dessert apples, which hold their shape as the tart bakes. It’s the combination of the crisp, flaky pastry alongside the sweet, moist compôte that makes this simple tart so heavenly. Serve it warm with double cream, custard or a good vanilla ice cream; or cold with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 large bramley apple (about 400g/14oz), peeled, cored and finely sliced
juice of 1 lemon and zest of 1⁄2
2 bay leaves
100g (3½oz) golden caster sugar
4–6 dessert apples, depending on size
for the rough puff pastry
150g (5½oz) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
300g (10½oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
good pinch of salt
about 100ml (3½fl oz) iced water

Method

First, make the pastry. In a bowl, combine the butter cubes with the flour and salt, then add just enough iced water to bring everything together into a dough full of big pieces of butter. On a well-floured surface, roll out the dough in one direction, away from you, to a rectangle about 1cm (½in) thick. Fold the two short ends into the middle so they overlap. Give the pastry a quarter-turn, and repeat the rolling and folding process three more times. Wrap the pastry in cling film, then rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Remove the pastry from the fridge and repeat the folding process a further three times. Wrap the pastry again and place it in the fridge to chill.

Put the apple slices in a pan with the lemon zest, bay leaves and 75g (2½oz) of the sugar. Add 1 tablespoon of water, then cook, covered, over a low heat, stirring regularly, until the apple pieces have dissolved and you have a thick, slightly translucent purée – about 30 minutes. Spoon into a bowl, cool, then place in the fridge to chill.

Heat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5. Roll out the pastry on a well-floured sheet of baking parchment to about 4–5mm (⅛–¼in) thick. Take a large, circular plate (about 30cm/12in diameter) and use it as a guide to cut out a pastry round. Remove the trim and use the parchment to slide the round onto a large baking tray. Spread the chilled apple purée evenly over the top of the pastry, almost to the edges. Discard the bay leaves. Arrange the apple slices over the purée in overlapping concentric circles, working from the outside in, until you have used them all up. Bake the tart for 30–40 minutes, or until the pastry is risen and crisp and the apples are soft and golden. Cool the tart for 15–20 minutes before serving.

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