Apple Tart or Tarte aux Pommes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tarte aux Pommes is my favourite dessert. An elegant, showy, simple, or should I say, simply delicious way to end a lovely dinner.
Apple Tart or Tarte aux Pommes, as Julia Child explains in her “Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1”, is a classic French apple tart consisting of flavorful applesauce in an open pastry shell. The sauce is topped with thinly sliced apples placed on the tart in concentric circles and baked until the apples have browned and are tender. After baking, the entire tart is coated with an apricot glaze.

Sounds difficult? It’s not. A little fussy when placing the apple slices, but it certainly is worth that little bit of extra care in the end.  Dessert tarts should be very showy (remember it’s all in the presentation!) showcasing the fruit in rosettes or overlapping circles. I have simplified the crust and the sauce. The end result is wonderful!

The Crust

A French tart is baked in a flan ring or tart pan with a removable bottom. I used my 10 inch tart pan with the removable bottom which makes a tart that serves 8 to 10 generously. Use your food processor, if you have one. If not, you can mix the crust ingredients with your fingers. Before beginning, spray the tart pan well with baking spray. Preheat oven: 400° F.

Pastry:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons softened butter

3 tablespoons cold water

1. Place flour,  sugar,  salt in a food processor and pulse once to blend.
2. Add butter and pulse about 3 times to evenly distribute the butter into the flour mixture. The butter should be the size of tiny peas.
3. Add very cold water and pulse about 2 to 3 times until pastry begins to stick together.
4. Dump the pastry onto the prepared tart pan. Working quickly, press dough onto the bottom and up the sides of the 10 inch tart pan with the removable bottom. Refrigerate.

Filling:

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoons sugar

10 – 12 oz. jar d’arbo Rose Apricot Preserves (or your best homemade apricot jam)

1. Place applesauce, sugar, and 1/2 cup apricot preserves into a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook uncovered until the sauce becomes very thick, about 20 minutes. Stir often.
3. Allow to cool while preparing the apple slices.
   

Apple Slices:

3 or 4 Golden Delicious apples*

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

*I like to use Golden Delicious apples because they hold their shape when baked, yet become beautifully tender.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Peel, core and quarter apples.
2. Slice each quarter lengthwise into slices about 1/8 inch thick.
3. Place slices into a bowl and gently toss with sugar and lemon juice.

Assembly:

1. Evenly spread cooled applesauce over bottom of chilled tart shell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Beginning in the centre, arrange slices overlapping in a small circle.
2. Arrange the rest of the slices, closely overlapping, in a spiral around the outside of the small circle, to cover the sauce completely.
3. Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until the apple slices are tender and browned.
4. Remove to a wire cooling rack to cool. Immediately coat apple slices with apricot glaze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apricot Glaze:

1. While tart is baking, press the remaining apricot preserves through a sieve into a small saucepan.
2. Heat to boiling and cook for about 2 minutes until the preserves have thickened and can coat the outside of a spoon. At this point, I like to add 2 teaspoons apricot brandy to the glaze to intensify the apricot flavour (optional).
3. Use a pastry brush to spread the hot apricot jam over the warm apple slices until evenly coated.

Tarte aux Pommes or Apple Tart can served warm or cold. Pass the whipped cream.

Tags: apple sauce, Apple Tart, French Apple Tart, Golden Delicious apples, pastry shell, Tarte aux Pommes

Category: Desserts, Pies & Tarts