Many recipes for this simple apple tart have a layer of cooked apple under the apple slices but his recipe uses a layer of marzipan. This very much appealed to me as apple and almond are a great combination. I also had a pack of ready made marzipan in the cupboard and a roll of puff pastry in the freezer.
I trimmed the pastry to a slightly smaller size (by about 2cm all round) so that it would definitely fit on my baking sheet and also the plate I had earmarked for serving it.
I followed the recipe pretty closely except that when it came to glazing the finished tart I used apricot jam for that "patisserie" look rather than melted butter.
It was a delicious tart, looked great and tasted wonderful. Next time I would probably pack in more sliced apples but otherwise it's a lovely dessert which looks way more difficult than it actually is to make.
Ingredients
1 pack ready made, ready rolled puff pastry
3-4 eating apples
1/3 (approx) of a 450g block of ready made marzipan
1 egg, beaten
50g butter, melted
2 tblsp caster sugar
2 tblsp apricot jam*
Method
Line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180° fan / gas mk 6.
Unroll the pastry and trim to fit your serving plate. Mine was circular as most French pasty comes in circles but an oblong or square tart is also good as long as you have a suitable serving plate.
Prick the pastry all over with a fork.
Slice the marzipan very thinly and lay the slices over the pastry leaving a small margin at the outside. It needn't look too pretty as it melts into a homogeneous layer under the apples.
Peel, core and thinly slice the apples*. Arrange them in a neat pattern over the marzipan leaving as few gaps as possible. Concentric circles work on a round tart and opposing rows or diagonals look good on square or oblong pastry. There are lots of ideas for inspiration on the internet if you Google "French apple tart images".
Brush the apples carefully with the melted butter and sprinkle over the sugar.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the apples are tender, the pastry is golden brown and the marzipan bubbling at the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool until just warm.
Put the jam into a small saucepan and heat gently until melted. Brush carefully over the apples so as not to disturb the pattern.
Serve warm or cold, with cream or ice cream.
Serves 8-10 portions.
*Cheap apricot jam works best as it has less real fruit in it and therefore fewer lumps of apricot! You can of course pick out or sieve out the lumps or Sainsbury's sell small jars of apricot glaze which is perfect for the job. Personally I don't mind a tasty lump or two of fruit in my glaze for that home made look!
*Peeling the apples is optional, as seen in some of the Google images.
