Recipe: Warm Spiced Apple Tart
Description: None
Ingredients: [{"text": "1 package frozen puff pastry"}, {"text": "3 tbsp. unsalted butter"}, {"text": "all-purpose flour"}, {"text": "3 Golden Delicious apples"}, {"text": "c. sugar"}, {"text": "1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon"}, {"text": "1/2 tsp. ground coriander"}, {"text": "1 large egg"}, {"text": "1/2 pt. whipping cream"}]
Instructions: Thaw one sheet of puff pastry overnight in the refrigerator or just leave it out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. It might take longer, depending on how warm it is in your kitchen. If you have any doubts, thaw it ahead of time and put it back in the refrigerator until you're ready to roll it; from the refrigerator, you'll need 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 475°F and butter a baking sheet.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry sheet to a bit more than a 12-inch square. Using a plate as a guide, cut a 12-inch round. (If you have a 12-inch plate, cool. If not, use a smaller plate and cut around it with a margin of however much you need to make up the difference.) Gently pick up the pastry round with both hands and put it on the buttered baking sheet. Put this in the refrigerator while you work on the apples.
Peel the apples. Cut them in half through the stem ends and use the melon baler or spoon to scoop out the cores. Then put the apple halves flat side down on a cutting board and trim both ends straight across. Cut the apple halves crosswise into very thin slices.
Take the baking sheet out of the refrigerator. Arrange the apples on the pastry round in concentric circles so that the rounded sides of the slices face out, and the apple slices overlap by about 1/2 inch. Leave a 1/2-inch border at the edge of the tart and arrange the apples so that the entire pastry round (with the exception of the border) is covered by the apples.
In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon, and coriander. Sprinkle over the apples only; any sugar on the pastry border will burn. Cut the 3 tablespoons of butter into about 20 thin slices and lay them over the apples, too. Whisk the egg in a small bowl for a glaze. Then use a pastry brush to paint the pastry border with the glaze.
Stick the tart in the oven and bake until the apples are tender and the border is browned, 13 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, whip the cream in a bowl with an electric mixer, or whisk, until soft peaks form when you lift the beater or whisk. The cream should not be too stiff.
When the tart is cooked, cut it immediately into quarters. Use a spatula to put one quarter on each of 4 plates and serve with the whipped cream.
