Apple Tart with Maple Whipped Cream and Apple Cayenne Syrup

So, I am kind of excited…today is our very first entry into to a food blog contest.  Which one you ask? … It is the Royal Food Joust by The Leftover Queen.  The basic premise is that every month, 3 ingredients are chosen that must be incorporated into one recipe.  The three ingredients for this month were apples, maple syrup and cayenne pepper.  So, after some serious consideration I came up with an apple tart topped with maple whipped cream and apple cayenne reduction.  I know, sounds fancy right…but really it is not difficult.  It is one of those recipes that looks and sounds fancy, but really did not take too much effort to make.  The apple tart starts with a store-bought pastry dough that is then filled with Granny Smith apple slices that have been tossed in a mixture of sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, maple syrup and cinnamon.  The tart is then baked in a 400 degree oven for only 30 minutes.  While the tart bakes and then cools, heavy cream is whipped with maple syrup. Finally, I drizzled a sweet and spicy syrup made out of apple juice, cayenne pepper and a small amount of maple syrup.