When my restaurant, Paul Ainsworth, at No6, first opened in 2005, we were virtually unknown and suffered from no customers for months. To adapt and keep the business going, we introduced a menu of sandwiches, cakes and pastries – nothing extravagant, but simple food for survival. One of the classics from those days was this slice: a basic puff pastry filled with apple, frangipane and apricot jam, served with clotted cream. It was as delicious then as it is now. This recipe would also work well with seasonal fruit such as pear, peaches and nectarines.
timing
Preparation time: 30 minutes, 3 hour break
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serve
Four
material
Frangipane
- 150g granulated sugar
- 150g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 150g beaten eggs (approximately 3 medium eggs)
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 150g almond flour
- Pinch of vanilla seeds (scraped from half a pod)
- 2 teaspoons amaretto liqueur
For slicing
- 350g good quality rolled puff pastry
- 2 egg yolks (beaten)
- 5 Pink Lady or Braeburn apples, peeled and cored
- Apricot jam 120g
- Powdered sugar (for sprinkling)
- Cornish clotted cream (for garnish)
Method
- First, make the frangipane. Place the granulated sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until light and fluffy, then gradually add the eggs. The mixture will separate a bit, but add plain flour to stabilize it so it will come together again.
- Add the ground almonds and mix slowly until combined, then add the vanilla seeds and amaretto liqueur. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and refrigerate for a few hours before using.
- Preheat the oven to 195C/175C fan/gas mark 5½. Cut the pre-rolled pastry into a large rectangle approximately 30 x 11cm and 5mm thick. Add two more strips of pastry 30cm long and 1-2cm wide.
- Place a large rectangle of pastry on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and lightly brush each long edge with egg yolk. Place a strip of pastry on top of the egg yolk at each end, making sure the edges are lined up neatly. This will give the sides of the pastry slices extra rise to better hold the apples.
- Remove the frangipane from the refrigerator and pipe the frangipane evenly into the centre of each pastry slice, from top to bottom.
- Cut a peeled and cored apple in half from top to bottom. Place the halves face down and slice the apple widthwise very thinly, keeping the slices together.
- Then, starting at one end of the pastry, place an apple slice on top of the pastry slice, making sure the frangipane fits through the cavity in the core. Place the next apple slice on top of the previous one until the pastry is completely covered lengthwise. The apples should fill the entire slice, but not extend beyond the two thin edges of the pastry that you stuck to the base.
- Coat edges of pastry with beaten egg yolk and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until pastry is deep golden and apples are cooked through.
- Gently melt the apricot jam in a saucepan and as soon as you remove the slices from the oven, spread the jam over the apples and pastry. Allow to cool until warm. Slice the slices and serve lightly dusted with icing sugar and with a generous dollop of Cornish clotted cream.
Recipe from “For the Love of Food” by Paul Ainsworth (Pavilion Books, £26)
