1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Core, peel and slice the apples into 8 pieces each.
3. In a large frying pan, warm the butter over medium heat. Add the vanilla paste, seeds or extract and stir to combine.

4. Add the apples in one layer if possible. Sauté, turning gently occasionally, until the apples are lightly browned all over, and starting to turn tender.  This should take between 5 and 8 minutes.

5. Set aside.
6. On a well-floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to fit into a 9-10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. In other words, roll to about a 12 inches round. Transfer to the pan. Allow the pastry to fall into the pan, instead of pulling it up along the sides. If not, it will shrink away from the sides during baking. Gently press down and along the sides.

7. At this point you can trim to fit the pan. Or you can just fold any excess dough into a rustic pleated design. I don't even bother cutting it into a perfect circle- if it a rough square I just have extra dough in some spots- and someone always wants the slice with the extra flakey crust! Set into the fridge to chill until needed.

Frangipane

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, 5 tbsp of the ground almonds, maple syrup and bourbon. Whisk until it has become creamy and thickened- should resemble pancake batter. If you feel that it is too runny, add the last tbsp of ground almonds.

2. Take the pastry out of the fridge and place it onto a baking sheet.
3. Fill the bottom of the tart shell with the frangipane, spreading it evenly with an offset spatula.
4. Starting on the outer edge, create tight circles with the apples, pushing them as close together as possible. Keep going inward until all the apples have been used. You may need to overlap some gently.

5. Place the baking sheet onto the centre rack and bake until the apples are golden brown with lovely caramelization, the crust is a golden brown, and the frangipane has puffed up around the apples. This should take around 45-50 minutes.  

6. Cool slightly. Can be served warm or at room temperature. Serve with vanilla ice cream, bourbon whipped cream, or with a drizzle of bourbon caramel sauce.