Apple, frangipane and apricot jam slice with Cornish clotted cream recipe

When my restaurant Paul Ainsworth at No6 first opened its doors in 2005, we were practically unknown, and foot traffic was scarce for months. To adapt and keep the business afloat, we introduced a menu featuring sandwiches, cakes and pastries. Nothing extravagant, just simple fare aimed at survival. One of our staples during that time was these slices – basic puff pastry filled with apples, frangipane and apricot jam, served with a dollop of clotted cream. They were as delicious then as they are now. This recipe also shines with seasonal fruits such as pears, peaches and nectarines.

Timings 

Prep time: 30 minutes, plus 3 hours resting time

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serves 

4

Ingredients

For the frangipane

• 150g caster sugar
• 150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 150g eggs, beaten (about 3 medium eggs)
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 150g ground almonds
• pinch of vanilla seeds, scraped from ½ pod
• 2 tsp amaretto liqueur

For the slices

• 350g good-quality ready-rolled puff pastry
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 5 Pink Lady or Braeburn apples, peeled and cored through the centre
• 120g apricot jam
• icing sugar, for dusting
• Cornish clotted cream, to serve

Method

1. First, make the frangipane. Put the caster sugar and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat together until light and fluffy, then add the eggs, a little at a time. The mixture will separate slightly; to bring it back together add the plain flour to stabilise it.
2. Add the ground almonds and slowly combine, then finish by adding the vanilla seeds and amaretto liqueur. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and place in the fridge to rest for a few hours before using.
3. Preheat the oven to 195C/175C fan/gas mark 5½. Take the ready-rolled puff pastry and cut out a large rectangle, roughly 30x11cm and 5mm thick, plus 2 additional strips of pastry 30cm long and 1-2cm wide.
4. Place the large rectangle of pastry on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and lightly brush each long edge with egg yolk. Lay the strips of pastry on top of the yolk on each side, keeping the edges neat and in line. This will add an extra rise to the sides of the puff pastry slice and really help to contain the apples.
5. Remove the frangipane from the fridge and pipe an even line of frangipane down the middle of the pastry slice, from the top to the bottom.
6. Cut the peeled and cored apples in half, from the top to the bottom. Place each half cut-side down, then slice the apple very thinly across the width, keeping the apple slices together.
7. Then, starting at one end of the pastry, place each sliced apple half on to the pastry slice so the frangipane runs through the cavity left by the core. Place the next sliced apple half against the previous one until the pastry is completely covered lengthways. The apples should fill the whole slice but shouldn’t overhang the two thin edges of pastry that you stuck to the base.
8. Glaze the pastry edges with the beaten egg yolk, then bake for 30-35 minutes, until the pastry is a deep golden colour and the apples are cooked through.
9. Melt the apricot jam gently in a saucepan and, as soon as the slice is removed from the oven, glaze the apples and pastry with the jam. Leave to cool until just warm. Serve by cutting a slice, lightly dusting it with icing sugar and adding a big dollop of Cornish clotted cream on top.

Recipe from For the Love of Food by Paul Ainsworth (Pavilion Books, £26)