Recipe: Easy apple tarts with spiced cream

Spiced whipped cream adds some Christmas flavour to this easy dessert. Photo / Fresh Media

Try these super-simple tarts for a quick dessert.

These little fruit tarts give a nod to Christmas mince pies. The spiced cream makes them special for the festive season, but you could also serve them with ice cream or a thick custard.

Easy apple tarts with spiced cream

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

2 Tbsp butter

2 apples, cored and cut into small cubes

2 Tbsp lemon juice

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup sultanas

¼ cup ground almonds

Spiced whipped cream

1 cup cream

¼ cup icing sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp allspice

¼ tsp ground cloves

A pinch of nutmeg

Mint leaves to serve

Method

1. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat.
2. Saute the apple cubes with lemon juice and sugar for 3 minutes until the fruit starts to soften and most of the liquid has evaporated. Turn off the heat and let cool. Stir in the cinnamon and sultanas.
3. Preheat the oven to 190C.
4. Cut the pastry sheet into four squares and place on a baking tray. Use the back of a knife to lightly score a 1cm border around the inside of each piece of pastry.
5. Sprinkle the ground almonds within the border on the pastry, then spoon the cooled fruit mixture over the ground almonds.
6. Bake for about 18 minutes until the pastry is puffed and starting to brown.
7. Meanwhile, make the spiced cream. Mix the cream, sugar and spices and whip until a soft peak forms.
8. Serve the apple and sultana tarts with a dollop of spiced cream and garnish with mint.

– fresh.co.nz