French apple tart with cinnamon & vanilla

THE RECIPE

French apple tart with cinnamon & vanilla

An elegant, shallow tart with paper-thin apples arranged in neat circles. The classic pairing that keeps the apple itself at centre stage.

Method

1. 1
   Make the pastry

   Quickly work the flour, butter, icing sugar, egg and salt into a dough. Chill for 30 minutes.

2. 2
   Blind-bake

   Roll the pastry into a tart tin. Prick the base and blind-bake with baking paper and pie weights for 12 minutes.

3. 3
   Arrange the apples

   Slice the apples very thinly. Toss with the sugar and flavouring: 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla sugar or ½ tsp vanilla extract. Arrange in overlapping circles.

4. 4
   Bake

   Brush with melted butter and bake until the apples are tender with caramelised edges.

5. 5
   Glaze

   Warm the jam with a teaspoon of water and brush over the hot tart for a glossy finish.