Normandy apple tart flambeed with Calvados

Squeeze a lemon into a bowl.

Core the apples first and peel them after, so the flesh does not brown while you work.

Cut the apples into thick slices and stir them through the lemon juice to coat them as you go, so they do not brown.

Sprinkle the sugar over the apples and coat them gently without breaking them, keeping a tablespoon of sugar back for the flambe.

Melt the butter in a large saute pan.

Lift the apples out of the lemon juice, draining them, and add them to the butter so they colour instead of boiling.

Reduce the sugar and lemon with the apple juices until it almost caramelises and the apples take colour, swirling the pan rather than stirring.

Stop when there is no juice left in the pan -- the excess moisture is what makes the shortcrust soggy. Turn off the heat and let the apples cool.

Take the shortcrust out of the fridge 10 to 15 minutes ahead so it is malleable; cracks at the edge mean it is still too cold.

Flour the bench and roll the dough to a rough circle about 30 cm across, brushing off the excess flour.

Roll the dough up on the rolling pin and unroll it onto a baking sheet -- no tart pan is used at any point.

If it lands crooked, freeze it until firm and then lift and readjust it.

Heat the oven to 190C.

Pile the cooled apples in the middle, leaving a three and a half centimetre border all round, and trim the edge square with a knife.

Fold the border back over the apples all the way round to build a casing out of the crust itself.

Bake the first stage before flambeing.

Warm the 50 ml of Calvados in a small covered pan until it fumes -- do not boil it -- then light it in the pan.

Pour the flaming Calvados over the tart, over the apple rather than the pastry, and return it to the oven.

Bake out to a total of about 35 to 40 minutes.

Rest the tart until cool before cutting; cutting it hot will not hold.

Spoon a little more Calvados over the apple once cool, unlit, to put back the flavour lost when it flamed off the pastry.