Caramel-glazed Apple Tartlets

This tart has been in my repertoire since I first cooked it at Pavilion on the Park in 1978. The unctuous cream filling, crisp pastry and caramelised apples are a perfect balance of textures and flavours; matched with a botrytis riesling or sauternes, it really does not get much better. I use 10cm-diameter pie moulds to make the tartlet shells and the somewhat unlikely combination of a blow-torch and a water atomiser [the type used to moisten clothes for ironing] to caramelise the apples at