French Caramelised Apple Tarts by Nici Mickes

Ingredients

1 sheet flaky pastry
½ cup caster sugar
70mls water
100ml (almost ½ cup) cream
20g butter
5 medium apples – any variety – peeled and chopped into ¼’s

Directions

For the pastry: Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Cut four pastry squares, measuring about 10cm x 10cm each. Put these on an oven tray (either lightly floured or lined with baking paper). Run a knife about 1cm in from the edge around the border of each square, not cutting all the way through the pastry though. This creates a rim when the pastry puffs up (hopefully).  Cook at 180°C until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool. These can now be stored in an airtight container until required.

Make the caramel: Put sugar and water in a small heavy based saucepan over a medium heat. Dissolve the sugar completely by swirling the pot and only then bring it to the boil. Try not to stir it, instead move the pot to get the contents swirling if you need to. Cook to a golden brown – about 5-7 minutes and watch it like a hawk as it tends to go from clear to brown/burnt very quickly!

Once golden, remove from the heat, add the cream and return it to the heat (it will spit when the cream goes in so be careful). Stir to get rid of any lumps then add the butter and allow it to melt. Add the chopped apples and cook gently until they begin to soften slightly, about 2-3 minutes. Don’t overcook them as they will continue to cook in the hot sauce. Now set aside until required.

To assemble: Place a pastry square on individual plates and top with the warmed caramelized apples. Serve with vanilla ice-cream.

Serves 4