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This recipe makes 8 tartlets.
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In addition to the cooking time there is chilling and setting time required.
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To make a quantity of sweet pastry; sift the flour, salt and icing sugar into a food processor or a bowl, add the pieces of butter and work together briefly, either in the food processor or with your fingertips, until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
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Tip the mixture into a bowl and stir in the egg yolk and enough water until the mixture starts to come together into a ball.
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Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth.
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Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6.
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Briefly re-knead the pastry, then cut into 8 pieces.
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Roll each piece out on a lightly floured work surface to a 3mm thickness and use to line eight lightly buttered, 8cm loose-bottomed tartlet tins.
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Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
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Prick the bases with a fork and line with squares of crumpled greaseproof paper and a thin layer of baking beans.
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Bake the tartlet cases for 10 minutes or until the edges are biscuit-coloured.
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Carefully remove the paper and beans and return the tartlets to the oven for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
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Remove and leave to cool.
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Meanwhile, break the white chocolate into a small heatproof bowl.
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Bring 3cm of water to the boil in a small pan, remove from the heat and rest the bowl of chocolate on top.
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When it has melted, brush a very thin layer of chocolate over the inside of each tartlet case.
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Leave to cool and set.
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Put the apple juice, sugar, cloves and nutmeg into a wide shallow pan and simmer until reduced by half.
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Quarter, core and peel the apples, thinly slice them into the syrup and simmer for 1 minute.
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Leave to cool in the syrup.
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For the cheesy pastry cream, mix the egg yolks, lemon zest, sugar, plain flour, cornflour and 2 tablespoons of the milk together in a mixing bowl until smooth.
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Bring the rest of the milk to the boil in a non-stick pan.
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Gradually beat into the egg yolk mixture, return the mixture to the pan and stir over a medium heat, until smooth and thick.
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Simmer gently for 2 minutes, stirring, then spoon into a bowl and press a sheet of cling film onto the surface to prevent it from forming a skin.
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Cool, then chill until needed.
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To assemble the tarts, put the cream cheese into a mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand-held whisk for a minute or two until smooth and light.
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Gradually beat in the chilled pastry cream.
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Spoon the mixture into the tartlet cases and lightly level the tops.
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Lift the apple slices out of the syrup and arrange them, slightly overlapping, over the top of the pastry cream.
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For the butterscotch glaze, put all the ingredients into a small pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
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Brush the mixture over the top of the apples and leave to cool, then serve.
