Flaky pastry, crunchy almonds, sweet marzipan, tart apples and a melting chocolate surprise inside. There is everything to love about this recipe for apple and almond pastries. It's easy to make and the almond paste caramelises in places giving a wonderful chewy crunch.
Pour the water into a small pan and add the cinnamon stick, sugar and lemon juice. Over a moderate heat, bring to a gentle simmer. Give an occasional stir until the sugar has fully dissolved.
100 ml water, 5 cm cinnamon stick, 1 tbsp golden caster sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice
Wash the apples, then quarter them. Core and slice into four or five pieces.
2 tart apples
Add the apple slices to the pan and simmer for about 2 minutes. You want them just starting to soften, but not so much that they turn to mush.
Remove the slices with a slotted spoon and leave to drain in a colander or sieve.
Simmer the syrup for a further 3 minutes to thicken it.
Pastries
Preheat the oven to 200℃ (180℃ fan, 400℉, Gas 6).
Cut the pastry into eight rectangles and space them slightly apart on the paper sheet it's wrapped in. Place the paper on a baking tray.
320 g puff pastry sheet
Place a chocolate square in the middle of each rectangle.
80 g dark chocolate
Cut the marzipan into 8 pieces and roll into rectangles slightly smaller than the pastry ones. Don't worry about them being too neat as you won't notice any irregularities once the pastries are baked.
200 g marzipan
Place them over the chocolate and press down into the pastry to seal the chocolate so it won't leak out.
Lay four or five of the drained apple slices along the top of the marzipan, so they overlap very slightly.
Scatter the flaked almonds over the tops.
20 g flaked almonds
Bake near the top of the oven for 15 mins until they're well risen and nicely browned.
Remove from the oven and immediately brush the tops and sides with the syrup to glaze the pastries.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
As long as you use vegan puff pastry, vegan chocolate and vegan marzipan, this tart is suitable for those on a plant-based diet.You’ll find additional tips and info about this recipe in the main body of the post.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used. Please refer to my nutrition disclaimer for further information.