Uses:

Assembling the recipe:

Take a large bowl big enough to hold all the apples when sliced. fill with cold water and add a few spoonfuls full of white vinegar. Any type will do but wine or apple cider vinegar.

Prepare the pie crust as in the Pate Brisee recipe, line a 24cm, tart pan and place in the fridge for at least one hour before assembling the tart for baking.

Take the apples and peel, core and quarter them. Placing them into the acidulated water as you go. Then with a small pairing knife take the quarters and slice them length wise into 2 millimeter or 3/16th's of and inch slices. Just put them back into the water as you work.

When all the apples are sliced toss into a strainer and return to the bowl. Sprinkle over all the ingredients and toss to coat really well.

Start at the outer edge of the pie and lay each slice over laying the last making a fan pattern until you have the first ring of apple slices in. The start the next one and repeat the process.

You will get 2 rings of apple slices and them just nicely arrange some of the apple slices in the middle to look nice. (See the image above).

I then take all the smaller slices that didn't seem to fit and place them between the outer ring of slices and the pie crust, over lapping them by half around the pie to make a kind of fancy edge. I then repeat the process between the first and second ring of apples.

Take any liquid left in the bottom of the bowl - there will probably be a few small spoon full and distribute it evenly over the tart.

Bake in 200°C or 400°F in the middle of the oven for 1 hour or up to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it once it has been in for 1 hour as the sugar can make the edges of the apples brown too much. (burn).

Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack to room temperature, in its pan.

When cool melt the apricot marmalade in a small sauce pan and then using a pastry brush, brush a lite coating of it over the entire top of the tart to make it shiny and beautiful.

Notes:

I would love to say that this will keep well but it never seems to stay around more than 24 hours. You don't need to cover it in the fridge if it is only there for say 24 hours. You do if you will keep the left over's longer. Normally mine just sits on the dinning table, like I said its never around long enough to worry about.

It is best eaten at room temperature and on the day it is made.

Serve with whipped cream, vanilla sauce or vanilla ice cream. Terrific.

There are as many ways of decorating or should I say arranging the apples on the top of the tart as there are Frenchmen. But the main aim is that it is thin and the crust has a chance to get fully cooked. Check out the close up images for see one I made in a square tart tin as well as a round one. (Close Ups)