Chausson aux Pommes
Ingredients
- 2 rolls all-butter puff pastry (about 500 g)
- 4 apples (about 600 g)
- 40 g lightly salted butter
- 60 g sugar
- 5 g ground cinnamon
- 150 g salted-butter caramel
- 1 egg yolk, for the glaze
- 10 ml milk, for the glaze
Legend puts the first chausson aux pommes in Saint-Calais in 1630, and the shape has not changed since: a rectangle or oval of all-butter puff pastry folded over a mound of apple, sealed and glazed to a deep shine. The apples are cooked down first with butter, sugar and cinnamon so they hold their shape without weeping into the pastry, and this version slides a spoonful of salted-butter caramel in beside them. The scored strips along the edges are folded over the top like a plait, which both seals the turnover and gives it its ribbed back.
Method
Peel and core the apples and cut them into small cubes. Brown them in the butter with the sugar and cinnamon for 5-7 minutes until soft, then leave to cool completely.
Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and cut the puff pastry into 12 x 20 cm rectangles.
Score thin strips along the outer thirds of each long side, leaving the middle strip untouched.
Spoon the apple compote down the middle of each rectangle and add a generous drizzle of salted-butter caramel.
Fold and plait the scored strips over the filling to close the turnover, then brush with the egg yolk beaten with the milk.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, and serve warm with more salted-butter caramel alongside.
