Recipe courtesy of David Lebovitz – https://www.davidlebovitz.com/apple-tart-tarte-fine-aux-pommes-recipe-french-pastry-puff/
I’ve recently started following Mr. Lebovitz’s blog and came across this recipe a few weeks ago. So, I picked up some apples and frozen puff pastry during my last grocery run and baked this delightful tart Sunday night.
To start, I defrosted the frozen puff pastry in the refrigerator overnight. I opted for frozen puff pastry just for convenience and time. I’m sure the homemade pastry is better, but this worked fine.
My choice of apples for recipes of this type tend to be granny smith, they hold their shape, don’t get mushy, and add a tartness that balances out the sweet. I’ll probably try this again with Cosmic Crisp.
When I was ready to get started, I commenced with apple peeling, which was out of order to the original instructions and so, my apples started to brown a bit as I worked with the puff pastry (lesson learned, but it didn’t affect the final product in any noticeable way). Note that slicing using a mandoline is the best way to go for consistency, but if you don’t have one, a sharp chef’s knife will get the job done.
I laid out a piece of lightly floured parchment and rolled the pastry out to a 14″ square.
Since I didn’t have a 12″ cake pan to use as a guide for cutting out the final round pastry so I improvised and used a standard ruler and a paring knife to get to the right size and shape.
Arranging the apples took a bit of patience, I started on the outside and worked my way in adjusting the angle as I went along. The hardest part was getting the center fan out to look anything like David’s and while I failed to replicate his beautiful placement, I think things lined up just fine. If you have a tip that I should use next time, please post it in the comments.
Once the arrangement was done, I drizzled two tablespoons of melted butter over the entire tart starting on the outside edge and making sure to have good coverage throughout, then sprinkled two tablespoons of sugar all around and popped it in a 400F degree oven.
David mentions in his instructions that cooking times will vary depending on your particular equipment. I started off with the tart in the center of the oven but after the 20-25 minutes were up it didn’t quite have the golden brown that I was aiming for. I moved it up to the top third and continued for 5 more minutes and that did the trick.
After letting it sit for a few minutes, I brushed on some watered down apricot jam as a glaze (using hot water)
Et Voila!
Although this should be served the same day you make it, it was a too much for hubby and I to eat it in one sitting. It made for a lovely snack the following morning as well.
French Apple Tart
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry or follow David's instructions to make your own
- 1½ pounds (700g) apples, about 3-4 medium apples I used granny smith
- 1½ - 2 tbsp melted butter
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp apple jelly, apricot jam, or red currant jelly, thinned with just enough hot water until brushable I used apricot jam
Instructions
- Defrost one sheet of puff pastry according to package instructions. Then, on a lightly floured surface roll out into a 14 inch square. Use a ruler or a plate to trim this down to a 12" circle. Carefully (you may want to fold it in half) move the pastry to a baking sheet.
- Peel and core the apples and slice thin (⅛-¼ inch). You can use a mandoline or a good chef's knife.
- Starting on the outside and working your way in, lay out the apples in concentric circles over the pastry, leaving a small border of dough around them.
- Drizzle the melted butter over the apples starting with the edge of the pastry dough, then sprinkle the sugar over everything.
- Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 20-25 minutes (keep an eye on it as ovens will vary) and once it reaches the desired browning, remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.
- Using about 2 tablespoons of jelly or jam diluted with a bit a little hot water, lightly brush the entire tart to glaze it.
- Serve the same day.