Apple tart with rum and raisin ice cream

Method

1. To make the rum and raisin ice cream, stir together the cream, milk, half of the sugar, honey and salt in a pan. Place over a medium heat until steaming.

2. Whisk the egg yolks together in a bowl along with the second half of the sugar. Pour the steaming milk mixture over the whisked yolks and whisk well.

3. Pour this back into the pan and continuously stir over a medium heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and pour through a sieve into a heatproof bowl.

4. Allow to cool before placing in the fridge for 24 hours.

5. Churn in an ice cream machine until it’s ready, then stir through the rum-soaked raisins and freeze.

6. To make the pastry, you’ll need a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a food processor. Add the flour, almonds, sugar and salt and mix well. Add in the cold cubed butter and rub in with your fingertips or mix/pulse until it resembles loose breadcrumbs. Add in the cream cheese and mix briefly until a dough forms – it won’t take very long. Don’t be tempted to overwork the dough at this stage.

7. Tip the dough out onto your work surface and gently use your hands to bring it together, then wrap tightly in some baking paper or cling film and press into a disc shape – this helps it to cool down evenly and more quickly. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours until firm, or overnight.

8. Grease the sandwich tin liberally with softened butter and line the base with a circle of baking paper, then put this in the fridge while you roll out the dough.

9. Lightly flour the work surface, then gently knead the dough to make sure it’s all evenly the same temperature. Roll out the dough to a rough circle about 4–5mm/¼in thick – this will be folded over the apples so it needs to be a rough circle, almost galette-like in its assembly.

10. Transfer and press the dough into the prepared tin, making sure the dough is draping nicely over the edges of the tin.

11. Prepare the apples by coring, then thinly slicing them. It’s best to do this quickly and to not submerge them in water even if they start to brown slightly. Toss them in a bowl with the sugar and rum.

12. Layer the apple slices into the pastry case – you don’t need to be really precise or precious about it, but do bear in mind that the finished tart will slice really nicely if it’s layered up consistently. Fold the edges of the pastry over the apples, then chill in the fridge.

13. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Place a sturdy baking tray on a shelf in the middle of the oven to preheat.

14. Brush the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle the demerara sugar on top. Place the tart on the preheated baking tray and bake for 40 minutes or until the pastry is deep golden.

15. Remove from the oven and allow the tart to cool slightly before removing it from the tin. If it cools too much, there’s a risk that it will weld itself to the tin; if this happens, briefly warm it up again in the oven.

16. To glaze the tart, gently warm up the jelly or jam with a splash of water in a small pan over a low heat or use a microwave. Brush this over the apples. Dust the tart with icing sugar, if you like. Serve warm with the rum and raisin ice cream. Alternatively, serve with crème fraîche, cream, custard, or on its own.