Free Cooking Recipes

This recipe, based on that given by Anne Willan in her brilliantly lucid The Observer French Cookery School, makes a tart for eight to ten people.

Of the four main elements in the tart, three can be prepared in advance. So operate from that page first, and then come back to this one.

1 pound rich shortcrust pastry
10 ounces frangipane
4 cup apricot glaze
3-4 ripe dessert apples
superfine sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Wrap and chill the rich shortcrust pastry for at least half an hour. Roll it out and use it to line a tart pan of 10 inches (or slightly larger). Prick the dough lightly with a fork, then flute the edges and chill for some time until it is firm.
2. Set the oven at 400° and put a baking tray on one of the lower shelves.
3. Pour the frangipane into the chilled pastry case, spreading it evenly. Peel, halve and core the apples, then cut them into very thin slices and arrange them on the frangipane like the spokes of a wheel. Press them down gently so that they reach the pastry base.
4. Bake the tart on the hot baking sheet for 10-15 minutes until the pastry is beginning to brown.
5. Then turn the heat clown to 355° and continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes until the apples are tender and the frangipane is set. About ten minutes before you judge baking will be finished, sprinkle the sugar over the tart; this will melt and caramelize slightly.
6. When the tart is baked, remove it and leave it on a rack to cool. Then pour melted apricot glaze over it. Serve at room temperature.