Apple Tart
I’ve been cheating on the American pie. I didn’t bake any apple pies after I went apple picking and completely ignored the pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving. Instead, I’ve been making quite a few of these European variations such as this French apple tart and this blueberry galette.
Don’t get me wrong, I love pies with their buttery crust and gooey filling. But at times they can be too sweet and heavy, especially with the accompanying ice cream or whipped cream.
A tart, on the other hand, is much more sophisticated. It has a pastry base without a crust on top. The filling is simple and less sweet.
This tart is a very similar to a galette, which is a rustic, free-form pastry. In fact, if you don’t have a tart pan, you can bake this tart on a baking sheet with a layer of parchment paper in between.
You can use pretty much any firm, tart apple for this. I used some Pink Lady. Granny Smith and Golden Delicious will work well too. You can also try this dessert with other fall fruits such as pear or quince.
This tart is very versatile. Served on a nice cake stand with some vanilla-spiked whipped cream, this will be the fanciest dish at your dinner party. It is also easy and casual enough for a picnic or a barbecue. It may be even more American than a good old pie.
Apple Tart
Adapted from Alice waters via the Smitten Kitchen
For the dough:
- All-purpose flour, 1 cup
- Granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt, 1/8 teaspoon
- Unsalted butter, 6 tablespoons, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, chilled
- Ice water, 3 to 4 tablespoons
For the filling:
- Apples (Golden Delicious, Granny Smith or another tart, firm variety), 4 medium
- Unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons, melted
- Granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons
For the glaze:
- Granulated sugar, 1/2 cup
Mix flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a couple of times to combine the ingredients. Add butter. Pulse for about 10 times or until the dough resembles a coarse cornmeal and the butter pieces are no larger than a pea. With the food processor running, drizzle in the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough just comes together. Dump the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Gently combine the dough into a small, flat disk. Wrap with plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.
In the meanwhile, peel, core and cut the apples into 1/4-inch thick slices. Save the peels and cores. Put the reserved peels and cores along with the sugar for the glaze in a small saucepan. Add 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Take out the dough from the refrigerator. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 14-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Dust off excess flour with a pastry brush. Place dough in a lightly greased 9-inch round tart pan, or on a parchment-lined baking sheet if you want to make a free-form galette.
Overlap apples on the dough in a ring up to the sides of the tart pan. Pack the apples tightly as they will shrink as the tart bakes. Layer apples on the dough, leaving a 2-inch border if you are making a galette. Fold any dough hanging over the tart pan back onto the tart.
Brush the melted butter over apples and dough edge. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of sugar over the apple and the dough. Bake for 45 minutes, rotating once to ensure even browning.
Remove tart from oven. Cool for 15 minutes. Remove from tart pan and brush reserved apple glaze over it.
Slice and serve.