1 Peel, core and roughly chop 2 apples. Place in a saucepan with butter and cook
over moderate heat for 20 minutes or until soft and of a puréed consistency.
Allow to cool.
2 Peel, core and quarter remaining apples, then cut into thin
slices.
3 Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Roll pastry out to 3mm thick then,
using a large dinner plate as a guide, cut out a 30cm-diameter circle. Place on
lightly greased baking tray and score an inner circle 1½cm from the pastry edge
to prevent rising. Spread the purée over the inner circle of the base and place
the remaining apple slices in a tight concentric circle. Beat the egg with 1
tbsp water and brush the pastry edge with the egg wash. Sprinkle the tart with 1
tbsp sugar, then bake for 20 minutes.
4 While tart is cooking, heat 3 tbsp
sugar and 3 tbsp water over a medium heat in a small saucepan until the sugar
dissolves and mixture reduces a little and becomes syrupy.
5 For lavender
cream, combine honey and crème fraîche in a bowl. Just before serving, sprinkle
with lavender flowers.
6 Remove tart from oven, brush with sugar syrup, then
turn up oven to 220C/gas 7 and cook for a further 10 minutes or until top begins
to caramelise. Remove from oven and leave to cool. Dust with icing sugar and
serve with lavender cream.