An Easy Apple and Frangipane Tart

After a short break from all the holidays baking and indulging, I guess it´s time to start baking again.
Even though I´m craving for sweet recipes again but I don´t have the time or the energy right now to bake complicated recipes and I am ready to take shortcuts to satisfy my demanding sweet tooth. 

Thinking of what this easy recipe would be I sifted through the ingredients I would like to see featured and went with apples as my go to baking fruit coupled with a hint of chocolate for more depth of flavor. 
So an apple tart was that easy recipe that could meet my needs especially that I didn't bother making the dough myself. I bought a good quality puff pasty, already rolled, saving me much time and effort. 

As for the filling, I went with the frangipane which I love to use as much as possible. It's very common in French patisserie but I don't know if it's of pure French origins or the Italians have contributed to its elaboration. In all cases, it's a delicious, rich, sweet and nutty filling.  

Now let´s go to the recipe.
For an 18 cm tart pan you need:

• 1 pack of good quality puff pastry 
• 1 small egg at room temperature
• 50 g of ground almonds or any other nut you like (I used a mix of almonds and hazelnuts)
• 50 g white sugar
• 50 g soft butter
• dash of salt
• tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 apple cored, I didn´t bother peeling it and I used the pink lady variety
• Some dark chocolate and cinnamon

First cover your pan with the puff pastry, prick it with a fork, cover it with parchment paper and put some weight in the middle (beans, chickpeas or whatever) and bake in a preheated (180C) oven till the edges are golden, remove the parchment and bake until the middle is also crisp and golden. Let it cool a bit.

Meanwhile, mix the butter with the sugar and salt, add the egg and the vanilla and mix well, then add the nuts and combine, pour the mixture over the baked puff pastry, then arrange the wedges of apple over the mixture. 

Grate some chocolate over the apple (the quantity is up to you) and finish with a sprinkle of cinnamon. 

Bake the tart for between 15 to 20 min in a preheated oven (180C). The frangipane will rise a bit and cover the apples. The tart is done when the frangipane has a nice golden color and feels set. Don't over bake it as the mixture will dry out and you lose that special taste and texture of the filling. 

So when you have little time to spare but don't feel like baking and prepping for hours, try this tart and you're in for a sweet surprise!