I love the BBC Delicious Magazine. I love it for its mouth watering pictures, constant variety of dishes for any season, but most of all I love it for its never failing recipes. It is so easy to get inspired and try to prepare any of the deliciously looking suggestions. Every trial tests and sharpens my skills. Every triumph in successfully applying a recipe makes my family happy, savouring every bite, hungry for more. I do cook a lot. Yet only rarely do I make my family members speechless with a dish.
This French inspired apple tarts, topped with crisp caramel was definitely a winner at home. So easy to make, yet so delicious. The perfect lazy Sunday afternoon dessert.
{Original recipe from BBC Delicious Magazine: Tartes fines with caramel crisp}
Ingredients
- 500g pack puff pastry
- Plain flour for dusting
- 4 crisp eating apples
- 100g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- A little melted butter
- 1 medium free-range egg, lightly beaten, to glaze
- 100g apricot jam, gently warmed and passed through a sieve, to glaze
- Double cream, lightly whipped, to serve
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a pound coin, then cut out 6 x 12cm circles. Put on a baking sheet, prick all over with a fork and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.
2. Quarter the apples, core and slice very finely (leave the skin on). Sprinkle the pastry circles with caster sugar (about 1 tbsp), then top with overlapping layers of thinly sliced apples, leaving a 1cm border around the edge. Brush the apples with melted butter, then sprinkle with more sugar. Brush the pastry border with the beaten egg. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and brush the apples with the apricot glaze. Set aside.
3. Gently heat the 100g sugar with 100ml water in a pan until the sugar has melted. Increase the heat and bubble for about 5 minutes until it has turned a dark golden caramel colour.
4. Using a teaspoon, drizzle the caramel over the top of the tartes, then leave to set and crisp up. Serve the tartes with lightly whipped double cream.
