Caramelised apple tart with rum, vanilla and cinnamon

Halve the apples, remove the cores, and hold them in water with lemon juice so they do not oxidise and blacken.

Split the vanilla pods in two and scrape the seeds into the mix.

Line the pan with the pre-made puff pastry, patching it where the rectangle does not fit the round, and make a single hole in the bottom so the base does not puff.

Put the lined pan in the fridge while the apples are cooked, and heat the oven to over 180 degrees Celsius.

In a pan with high edges, start a caramel with all the sugar and a little water - the water is not necessary but buys time and control. Stop at a blond colour, not dark.

Drain the apples and put them into the caramel. Drop the heat to low; the caramel goes gooey as the apples release liquid and loosens again as the heat comes back.

Throw in the vanilla seeds and the pod, the cinnamon and the rum, and toss the whole thing.

Raise the heat a little and cook the apples 10 to 15 minutes to take up the flavour, soften them and reduce the juice, until the caramel thickens and is almost stringy.

Turn the apples out cut side down onto the pastry base, fitting in as many as will go, and discard any that caught and burned.

Pour whatever caramel is left over the apples, keeping it even.

Bake about 35 minutes; it took him more than 40, and it depends on the apple.

Take it out of the mould straight away - it sticks - and serve. A mould without a removable bottom makes that near impossible.