Apple Marzipan Tart

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/gas mark 6. Line and grease a 25cm springform cake tin with baking paper.
2. For the pastry, sift the flour and salt together. Add the caster sugar, 10g of the vanilla sugar, 1 egg and the butter. With your hands, mix and work the ingredients together until the dough becomes smooth and pliable. On a floured surface, roll out the dough slightly larger than the diameter of the tin. Transfer the dough to the tin — there should be a rim of about 4cm around the sides.
3. Peel, core and slice the apples. The slices should be about 5mm thick. Spread the slices over the pastry.
4. For the filling, mix the cornflour, remaining 80g vanilla sugar and some of the milk together to get a smooth, thick liquid without any lumps.
5. Tear the marzipan into little flakes.
6. Bring the remaining milk to the boil and whisk in the cornflour mixture. Continue boiling and whisking for about a minute. Reduce the heat and add the marzipan. Stir until the marzipan is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Once lukewarm, whisk in the remaining 2 eggs. Pour the filling over the apples and spread evenly.
7. Bake for about 50 minutes. The filling might get some variation in colour, depending on the distribution of the apples.
8. Leave the cake to cool for 30 minutes, then remove from the tin to cool completely. This cake is best on the second day, and it keeps for 3–4 days in an airtight container

VANILLA SUGAR:

1. Put the vanilla pods in a tall jar that can be sealed airtight with a lid.
2. Add caster sugar to cover the vanilla pods completely.
3. Keep topping up as needed.