Almond tart with medlar jam, caramelised apples and Jersey cream by Quo Vadis

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Almond tart with medlar jam, caramelised apples and Jersey cream

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Almond tart with medlar jam, caramelised apples and Jersey cream

British

Dessert

2 hours

Sweet

Medium

Serves

10 to 12

Jeremy Lee's take on the classic Bakewell Tart, this dessert delivers on so many levels. The wonderfully light and soft frangipane marries perfectly with the scrumptious prune and medlar jam, while the caramelised apples bring a tartness that gets cut through by the rich and unctious cream.

Requires some prep in advance, but this is an indulgence you'd be crazy to miss.

Recipe courtesy of

Ingredients

Pastry

250g of plain flour, plus extra for dusting
125g of unsalted butter, cold
50g of icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp water

Prune And Medlar Jam

36 medlars
18 Agen prunes, stones removed and coarsely chopped
6 tbsp of Armagnac

Frangipane Filling

500g of Marcona almonds
500g of unsalted butter
500g of caster sugar
4 eggs

Caramelised Apples

6 apples, Jonagold, Discovery or Cox's apples
100g of caster sugar
2 lemons, juice only

To Serve

Jersey cream
icing sugar, for dusting
flaked almonds

Method

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Method

The night before serving, prepare the pastry and jam. Place the butter, flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and blitz to form a fine crumb. Add the water and egg yolks and blitz again to bring the mixture together into a ball
Tip the pastry out onto a board or clean, floured surface and knead lightly. Bring the pastry together into a ball and wrap in clingfilm, placing in the fridge to rest overnight
For the jam, pound the medlars through a conical sieve into a large bowl and add the chopped prunes. Stir through the Armagnac and mix until well combined, then pour the jam into a large sterilised jar. Seal and set aside until required
The next day, prepare the frangipane filling. Using a food processor or grinder, grind the almonds to a coarse crumb. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar and add the eggs one at a time. Beat in the almonds, stir well to combine and set aside in the fridge to rest
Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3
Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out into a large, even layer. Carefully line the tart case with the pastry, leaving a little overlap around the edges
Spread a generous layer of jam across the pastry and pour over the frangipane until 4/5ths full. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour
Meanwhile, prepare the caramelised apples. Peel and slice each apple into 6 even pieces and set aside.
Place a medium pan over a moderate heat and add the sugar. Heat to form a caramel, carefully adding the lemon juice and apples to the pan. Cook until the apples are soft and golden, and the caramel is thick and glossy. Set aside and leave to cool until ready to serve
After 1 hour, reduce the heat of the oven to 130°C/gas mark 1 and continue to cook the tart for a further 15 minutes. Once cooked through, remove from the oven and leave to cool a little, trimming any excess pastry from the edges
Once cool, scatter flaked almonds across the tart. Using a sharp knife, slice the tart into even pieces and divide between plates. Top with a generous spoonful of Jersey cream and arrange pieces of apple to one side. Drizzle over any remaining caramel, dust lightly with icing sugar and serve immediately