Baked Almond Apples In Pastry Recipe

For pastry: Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, lemon peel and salt in medium bowl.
Mix in butter, using fingertips, until mixture is consistency of fine meal.
Add water and gather ingredients into a ball.
Turn out onto counter and do a fraisage (push dough out along counter with heel of hand).
Reform ball; repeat fraisage.
Sprinkle dough with flour, wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour.
For apples: Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix cream, cider, vanilla and cinnamon in baking pan.
Peel and core apples; rub with cut lemon to prevent discoloration.
Place apples upright in pan; top each with 1/2 teaspoon butter.
Cover with foil and bake until apples are half cooked, about 15 minutes.
Transfer to plate to cool; reserve baking liquid.
For sauce: Measure baking liquid; add enough cream to make 1 1/4 cups.
Transfer to saucepan and heat through.
Place egg yolks in medium bowl.
Gradually beat in sugar until yolks are lemon colored and form a ribbon.
Beating constantly, add warm baking liquid and cream.
Return mixture to saucepan.
Place over medium low heat and stir with wooden spoon until mixture is thick enough to leave path when finger is drawn across spoon.
Remove from heat and stir in butter and nutmeg.
Place plastic wrap on surface of sauce to prevent skin from forming.
Let cool, then chill thoroughly in refrigerator.
Crumble almond paste onto work surface.
Moisten with egg white and knead until smooth enough to roll, adding sifted powdered sugar as necessary.
Divide into 4 parts.
Roll each between 2 pieces of plastic wrap into 7inch circle.
One at a time, dry apples with paper towels.
Paint inside and outside with preserves.
Discard top piece of plastic wrap from almond paste circle and set apple in center.
Bring almond paste up around apple and pinch edges together on top.
Peel off bottom piece of plastic wrap.
Set apples on small platter without sides touching and refrigerate.
Grease baking sheet.
Divide pastry into 4 parts, reserving small piece to form 4 pastry leaves and stems.
One at a time, roll each between 2 pieces of plastic wrap into 7 inch circle.
Discard top piece of plastic wrap.
Using metal spatula to lift apple from platter, place an apple in center of pastry.
Bring pastry up around apple and pinch edges together on top.
Peel off bottom piece of plastic and set apple seam side down on baking sheet.
Form leaves and stems from reserved pastry and set on apples.
Chill at least 1 hour before baking.
One hour before serving, preheat oven to 425°F.
Paint apples with beaten egg and bake until well browned, about 30 minutes.
Let cool 15 minutes.
Transfer apples to individual plates.
Pipe thin ribbon of melted preserves around base of each apple, if desired, and surround with band of chilled sauce.