Apple and almond galette

SERVES 4| PREP 40 MINS | COOK 30 MINS | EASY

400g block ready-made puff pastry

2-3 Pink Lady or Braeburn apples, cut into thin wedges 1 egg yolk, beaten

1 tbsp demerara sugar

10g flaked almonds

1 tbsp apricot jam

2 tsp lemon juice

250g crème fraîche or clotted cream

FRANGIPANE FILLING

80g unsalted butter, softened

80g caster sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 egg, lightly beaten

80g ground almonds

40g plain flour

100g custard

1 To make the filling, put the butter, sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use an electric hand whisk). Using the whisk attachment, mix for 5 mins until fluffy and pale. Add the egg gradually until combined. Fold through the almonds and plain flour using a spatula and, once combined, fold through the custard. Transfer to a piping bag and refrigerate until needed.

2 Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and put in a flat, heavy oven tray. Roll out the pastry to 3mm thickness and use a large dinner plate to cut out a circle, approximately 27cm. Put on a sheet of baking paper.

3 Snip 2cm off the tip of the piping bag and, starting from the middle of the pastry circle, pipe the frangipane filling in a spiral motion. Stop when there is a 5cm border of pastry left. Arrange the apples on top of the frangipane so that they are overlapping. Fold the excess pastry over, covering the edges of the frangipane and apples, and brush with the egg yolk. Sprinkle the demerara sugar all over the egg-washed pastry and, if any is left, on the apples, too.

4 Bake in the oven tray for 15 mins. Turn down the temperature to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds and bake for a further 15 mins or until deeply golden. Remove from the oven to cool on a wire rack.

5 Before serving, warm the apricot jam with a splash of hot water and a squeeze of lemon juice, then gently brush over the top of the galette until golden and shiny. Cut into slices and top with a dollop of crème fraîche, clotted cream or any remaining custard.

PER SERVING 1,153 kcals | fat 83.9G saturates 42.2G | carbs 80.1G | sugars 40.1G fibre 3.8G | protein 17.4G | salt 1G

Moored on a boat in the Paddington Basin, London, there couldn’t be a better place to enjoy seafood. One of two barge boats from London Shell Co, The Grand Duchess’s Stuart Kilpatrick cooks mainly British classics while diners enjoy a view that includes a duck or two. londonshellco.com