Nick Coffer’s Weekend Recipe

Simple Thin Apple Tart

I do love a pretty desert - but I’m also a rubbish pastry maker! So I’m all for a desert which has the wow factor, without needing Great British Bake Off level skills. This simplified version of the classic French “Tarte Fine aux Pommes” is not only delicious, it’s also easy to make. Above all, it looks beautiful.

You’ll need: 1 roll of store-bought puff pastry (all butter is best) 3-4 (depending on size) sharp flavoured apples like a Braeburn or Granny Smith A knob of butter Caster sugar 1 tbsp apricot jam

1. Hunt around in your kitchen cupboards for two round shapes, one of which needs to be 1cm narrower than the other. The larger round needs to fit on your unrolled puff pastry. I used a dinner plate and the base of a cake tin. 2. Unroll the pastry. Use the larger round shape to cut out a circle, using a sharp knife. Place the smaller round on the pastry and gently score the pastry around it. You just need a slight indentation - don’t cut the pastry. Place on a non-stick baking tray. 3. Carefully peel the apples, trying to keep their round shape. Cut them into quarters and slice out the cores in a curved line. 4. Slice the quarters into thin slices, 2-3mm in thickness. Try to keep them of equal size by always cutting down towards the point of

the quarter where the core was, slightly rotating the quarter as you go. 5. Starting on the outside, arrange the apple slices in a circular fan pattern on the pastry base (see photo).

Place them inside the circular border you marked. 6 Once you have completed the outside ring, do the same for the inside. 7. Melt a knob of butter in the microwave and carefully brush it onto the tart. Dust the tart quite generously with sugar. 8. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 220C/ Gas Mark 6 for around 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden around the edges and the apples caramelised. 9. Take the tart out of the oven. While it is cooling, melt the apricot jam in a saucepan and thin it out with a few drops of water. Glaze the top of the tart with the apricot jam using a pastry brush. Leave to set and serve once the tart is cool. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. **For a slight variation, you can also make an apple compote base. Cook down a cooking apple with some caster sugar until you have a smooth purée. Cover the base with this compote in a thin layer before placing the apples on top.