Apple Tart
Tessa is a dear friend I met through another dear friend, James. We recently connected again through Facebook after she commented on photos of our new Cavapoo puppy, Ruby. After our sweet dachshund Max passed earlier this year we knew we wanted to get another companion for our other dachshund, Oscar. Tessa and her husband Todd live in Paris also had recently lost their sweet dog, Lola. They, too, will be bringing home a puppy soon and wanted to know how it was going for our family. Our phone conversation went directly from puppies to the Parisian markets. Todd is a chef and shops the markets everyday. Tessa shared that on a recent trip he brought home the first of this season’s apples.
We love sharing food stories and culinary creations. She was excited to hear about In the Curious Kitchen. After I hung up the phone I received two emails. One from Tessa with her favorite cheese and bacon scone recipe and the other from Todd with his favorite apple tart recipe. The one note I was given from Todd was to use Calvados, a French apple brandy, in the tart. Ah ha…my new curious twist!
Inspired by my Parisian pals, I have created my interpretation of a French apple tart.
INGREDIENTS
Crust:
1 and 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) white sugar
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup (113 trams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
Apricot Glaze:
1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons Calvados
Apple Filling:
1 and 1/4 cups applesauce
1/2 pounds firm textured apples, about 3 pounds (HoneyCrisp, Ginger Gold or Galla)
1 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400°F
Prepare 8” to 9” tart pan
Place butter in bowl of electric mixer with paddle attachment and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add in eggs until incorporated. Add in flour, sugar and salt and mix until dough ball forms, do not overwork. Remove dough from bowl, flatten to disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about an hour.
Flour surface and rolling pin, roll pastry to at least a 12” circle, turn a quarter after each roll to insure even thickness and shape. Once at desired size, roll crust onto rolling pin and unroll into tart pan. Gently press dough into bottom and sides on pan. Remove any excess dough the is hanging over the edge. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Using a fork, prick the entire bottom of the crust. Add a piece of parchment paper to the tart pan, fill tart pan with pie weights or dried beans to keep crust from rising. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes. Remove crust from oven, pull off parchment paper and weights and set aside. Place crust back into 350°F oven for 5 minutes to dry out crust. Remove crust and set aside.
In a small saucepan heat apricot preserves to a boil. Take off heat and stir in Calvados until combined. Brush preserve mixture onto the bottom of crust.
Spoon applesauce into the cooled crust, spread evenly.
Peel, core and slice apples into 1/4” pieces. In a large skillet over medium heat add in butter, sugar and cinnamon (no cinnamon for French version tart), stir to combine. Once butter is melted add in apple slices, cook for 3-5 minutes just until soft.
Arrange apple slices in concentric circles over applesauce, brush with 2 tablespoon of melted butter.
Place tart back in 350°F oven for 25 minutes until apples are soft. Remove from oven and brush apples with reserved apricot mixture.
Yield: 8 to 12 Servings
Serving suggestion: Cool slightly and serve with a dollop of creme fraiche.
