Chinon Apple Tarts
A French dessert featuring two puff pastry tarts topped with Braeburn apples, brushed with a red wine jelly and served with cardamom crème fraîche.
Steps
- 1
To prepare the red wine jelly, combine red wine, jam sugar, star anise, clove, cinnamon stick, allspice, split vanilla pod and seeds in a medium saucepan; simmer until the sugar dissolves, then boil for about 20 minutes until reduced to a syrup. Strain and cool completely; refrigerate up to 1 month.
- 2
Take the puff pastry out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature for 10 minutes, then unfold. Preheat the grill to high and the oven to 180C (160C fan). Cut out two 13 cm circles from the pastry and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Sprinkle each circle with 1 tablespoon sugar and grill for 5 minutes until caramelised; keep an eye on it to avoid burning. Remove from the grill.
- 3
Peel, quarter and core the apples, then slice into about 2 mm-thick pieces. Arrange the slices on top of the pastry circles and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
- 4
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is cooked through and golden and the apples are softened. Remove and let cool slightly. Warm about 3 tablespoons of red wine jelly with 1 teaspoon water to loosen, then brush over the tops of the tarts.
- 5
In a small bowl, whisk crème fraîche with icing sugar and ground cardamom. Lift the warm tarts onto serving plates and serve with the cardamom crème fraîche.
