Chausson aux Pommes

Ingredients

• 600 g all-butter puff pastry
• 800 g Reinette or Bramley apples
• 40 g caster sugar
• 20 g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, optional
• 1 vanilla pod, split and scraped
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp milk, to glaze
• 2 tbsp caster sugar dissolved in 2 tbsp water, for the syrup glaze

Before you cook

• Peel, core and roughly chop the apples into 2 cm pieces.
• Toss the chopped apple with the lemon juice so it does not brown.
• Split and scrape the vanilla pod.
• Roll the puff pastry to 3 mm and chill it flat on a lined tray for 20 minutes.

Steps

1. Melt the 20 g butter in a wide saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the apples, the 40 g sugar, the vanilla seeds and the two tablespoons of water.
3. Cover and cook for 12 minutes, stirring twice, until the apples collapse.
4. Uncover and cook for a further 5 to 8 minutes, mashing with a fork, until the compote is thick enough to hold a ridge and no free liquid remains.
5. Stir in the cinnamon if using, then spread the compote on a plate and chill it until completely cold.
6. Cut six ovals from the chilled pastry, each about 14 cm long, using a template or a sharp knife.
7. Roll each oval a little longer in one direction only, so it becomes a slightly elongated egg shape.
8. Brush a 1.5 cm border of cold water around one half of each oval.
9. Spoon a heaped tablespoon of cold compote onto that half, keeping inside the border.
10. Fold the dry half over the filling and press the edges together firmly with your fingertips.
11. Seal and decorate the rim by pressing all round with the back of a small knife.
12. Chill the turnovers on a lined tray for 20 minutes.
13. Heat the oven to 200C fan.
14. Brush the tops with the egg glaze, avoiding the cut edges so the layers can still rise.
15. Score a series of shallow curved lines across each turnover with the tip of a knife, cutting no more than halfway through.
16. Pierce one small steam hole in the centre of each.
17. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until well risen, dark golden and dry underneath.
18. Brush the hot turnovers with the sugar syrup and let them cool for 15 minutes before eating.