Makes: 8 pastries

I’m not the pastry or dessert person in our house, though I have come to appreciate that the French really did understand that you really don’t need to go overboard to achieve something truly delicious.

And this is a classic example of that. Chaussson aux Pommes.

This is such a classy, self-contained number.

Largely pre-prepared and something you could happily eat the next day with a coffee.

I spend my time on the savoury. The first and second course. Decanting the wine. Etc.

Though jeez I am happy for the slight stretch to include these in our last meal.

Won’t be the last time.

I have very slightly adjusted the recipe.

Ingredients

2 sheets of puff pastry
4 apples
1 tbsp lemon juice
100ml apple juice (or water)
50 – 60gm caster sugar, to taste
4 egg yolks, plus 1 to glaze
80ml crème fraîche or double cream
Sunflower oil for greasing
Icing sugar for dusting

Method

1. Take the puff pastry out of the fridge to dethaw and preheat the oven to 200c.
2. Peel, core and quarter the apples, dropping them into a bowl of water with the lemon juice to stop them discolouring. Drain them and put in a pan with the apple juice, put the lid on and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes until they are very soft. Remove the lid and simmer until all the liquid has evaporated.
3. Mash the apples with a potato masher, stir in the suggar and cook over a medium heat, stirring, for about 2 – 3 minutes to allow for liquid to evaporate.
4. Beat the 4 egg yolks with the crème fraîche. Add this to the apple mixture and cook over a low heat, stirring vigourously, for 1 – 2 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly. Leave to cool.
5. Lightly oil a large baking sheet with baking paper. Mix the remaining egg yolk with a drop of water.
6. Cut the 2 pastry sheets into four squares. Lightly brush the tops with the egg yolk glaze and bake for 20 minutes until puffed up and browned.
7. Leave the pastries to cool slightly, then slice through the middle with a serated knife and fill each one with about 2 heaped tbsp of the apple cream. Dust with icing sugar.