Sunday baking - apple tart

I had a bag of apples sitting in the fridge that were neither crunchy nor sweet and totally uninspiring to the palate. I couldn't bear the thought of eating them fresh so the next best thing was to bake them, which turned out to be the most awesome thing you can do with soggy apples.

Don't let its looks fool you. This tart is laughingly easy to make. The most tedious and time-consuming part was assembling the "petals" to form the rose. But even that is optional - if you want to save time and effort, simply overlap the layers of apples slices flat on the pastry and bake away. It'll taste just as good.

Apple tart

Ingredients  

1 sheet store-bought shortcrust pastry 
4-5 apples, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice 
50 g butter, cubed
1 tablespoon marmalade or apricot jam

Method

1. Core the apples then cut into half and slice thinly.

2. Place apple slices in bowl, add brown sugar and lemon juice. Mix well to coat and leave in fridge for a couple of hours or until apple slices have softened.

3. Preheat oven to 180°C (360°F). Line 20 cm-round, fluted tart tin with pastry. Trim excess pastry. 

4. Assemble the apple "rose". Create the centre of the rose by rolling one apple slice tightly and placing in the centre of the pastry. Wrap a second apple slice around the first one. (If the apples have sufficiently softened this should be fairly simple, plus the brown sugar/lemon juice mixture should help the slices to stick together.) Repeat, ensuring the apple slices overlap to create the rose.

5. Once the apple slices are arranged, top with butter cubes and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the apples are golden and the crust is cooked through.

6. Microwave the jam for 10 seconds and brush the top of the tart while hot before serving.