To make the pastry, sift the flour on to a worksurface; make a hollow in the centre and add the butter with the salt. Work butter and salt together using the fingers of one hand until smooth and pliable; do not work in the flour yet (see tip). Add the icing sugar to the butter mixture and mix in the same way. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix with the butter mixture until it resembles scrambled egg. Gradually work the flour into the butter mixture, cutting' it in with a palette knife until well blended. Knead lightly until smooth. Wrap and refrigerate for 1hr or until firm.
Step 2
For the caramel, melt the butter over a low heat in a 28cm (11in) tarte tatin mould, then add the sugar (see tip). Peel, quarter and core the apples. Pack tightly in the mould, preferably standing on one end; cook for 20-25min until well caramelised (see tip). Turn the apples round two-thirds of the way through the cooking time. Add the lemon juice; leave to cool.
Step 3
Roll the pastry out so that it is 2.5cm (1in) larger all round than the top of the mould, then place on top of the cooked apples. Prick the pastry with the tip of a sharp knife. Bake at 220°C (200°C fan) mark 7 for 25-30min until the pastry is golden brown all over. Leave to cool in the tin for 10min, then turn out on to a plate.
Step 4
Serve at room temperature.
Step 5
To freeze. Complete to the end of step 3, cool, wrap and freeze. To serve. Thaw at cool room temperature for 1-2hr. Warm at 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4, loosely covered with foil, for 10-15min; serve as above.
• To make pastry in a food processor, process butter, sugar, egg and vanilla extract for 1min. Work in flour and salt until it just comes together. Knead lightly.
• If you don't have a tarte tatin mould, use a non-stick frying pan. Transfer to a deep, sloping-sided cake tin, or use a shallow casserole.
• Increase the heat as the apples begin to produce juice.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
