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1
Peel the apples and scoop out the cores with a teaspoon, cut the stalks out with a sharp knife.
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2
Put the sugar in the pan, together with 25ml water, place on a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and is beginning to bubble.
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3
Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract.
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4
Place the apple halves in the pan, first coating them in the caramel, cut sides up.
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5
Fill in any big gaps with smaller pieces of apple.
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6
Return the pan to the heat and cook gently for 5 minutes, shaking the pan a couple of times.
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7
Allow to cool completely.
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8
Roll the pastry out, place it on top of the apples and trim round the edges so there is an overlap.
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9
You can put the tarte in the fridge at this stage and cook it later.
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10
Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6 and cook the tarte for about 30 minutes until the pastry is golden and the caramel is bubbling around the sides.
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11
Put a large plate over the top of the pan and quickly, with oven gloves, invert the tarte on to it.
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12
At this stage I put the tarte back in the oven to crisp up the sides a little, but you can serve it straight away.
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13
To make the brandy cream, simply mix together the creme fraiche, icing sugar and calvados.
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14
Serve the tarte in slices with a dollop of cream.
