Apple Tart

Just before I went away on holiday, I had a whole fruit bowl filled with sweet eating apples. I'm not one for wasting so I was searching the internet for some inspiration. I could have turned them into apple jam, or used the whole lot for an apple compote. Instead, I thought the best thing to do would be to make an apple tart and proceed to eat the whole pie before flying!

I reduced the sugar quite dramatically as the apples were sweet enough on their own and used apricot jam to give it a sticky glaze. The result was delicious as a snack any time of the day, for desert with a bit of whipped cream, or even for breakfast. ;)

I cheated and used store bought puff pastry again but puff isn't really one I'm keen on making. I think the sheer amount of butter used to give it the 'puff' puts me off, not to mention the amount of time it takes. Store bought pastries are cheap and I find them to be suitable quality.

Ingredients
for the compote
100g Butter
750g Apples, peeled, cored and chopped
30g caster Sugar
1 Vanilla pod, split


1 package Puff Pastry
5 small Apples, peeled and cored, and thinly sliced
1/4 Lemon, juice only
3 tbsp Apricot jam


Start by making the compote. Melt the butter in the pan, add the apples sugar, vanilla pod and lemon juice. Cover and leave to cook on a moderate heat until the apples have started to fall apart. I sometimes add a dash of water to get it going, but if it's too runny at the end, leave it to reduce until you have a thick texture.

When the compote is ready, remove the vanilla pod and blend until smooth with a hand blender. Pass through a fine sieve and leave to one side.


Heat the oven to 220C.  Grease and flour a round pie tin, and then slowly lay your pastry. I rolled my pastry to 4mm thickness. Prick the base with a fork, cover with clingfilm and put in the fridge to chill.

When the compote has chilled, spread it over the bottom in a thin even layer. Then arrange the apple slices over the top overlapping as they will shrink when you put them in the oven. Cook in the oven until the slices are lightly coloured, approximately 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the jam over a low heat with a splash of water. When it is runny, sieve it to get rid of any bits of fruit, then brush it generously over the surface of the tart. Leave to set.