If you do some tartes aux pommes aka apple tart googling there are about 1000 variations of apple tart, even between *genuine* French recipes. It’s really one of those desserts that everyone has their own way of doing it. But to me apple tart has to be the way we used to buy it in the pastisserie back home in France. For this there are two very very important things. First is applesauce. The base of the apples has to be applesauce, jazz it up any way you want, but keep that frangipane away from my tart. My anti-liking of frangipane may make me biased here, but apple tart should be all about the apples.
I’ve recipe tested and posted various versions of my apple tart over the last couple of years promising to deliver a recipe and I’m finally getting round to it. It may seem, and is, a simple enough bake, but the perfectionist in me has testing all the different variations to make it the perfect tartes aux pommes that takes me right back to being a kid in a patisserie.
Pâte Sucrée
I use a traditional pâte sucrée dough for the tart crust. It’s a sweet pastry dough that has a shortbread like texture, which adds a lovely crispy base to the apples.
I have made this tart without blind baking the pastry, and this works, you can definitely do this if you want a more lazy bake. I prefer blind baking the crust here so that it’s a crispier base for the applesauce on top.
Applesauce
I homemake applesauce for my tart. It’s really easy to do, simply chopping some apples, cooking till soft and then pureeing. But you can absolutely buy some pre-made too, no-one is judging here.
Rose tart
The final version I’ve gone with here is a rose pattern for the apples. This is not traditional. Traditionally the apple slices are usually just layed flat in concentric circles as in my version below. But I love that (with a little more effort) it turns the humble apple tart into a showstopper AND gives you a nice thick apple to base ratio, which I am alll about. If you want to make an easier topping, I’ve got a couple of previous versions I made for ideas below.
To make the rose tart version takes a little more time but is simple enough. If you have a mandolin, I definitely recommend using it here. Otherwise, if you happen to have misplaced your mandolin blades somewhere in your house move, you can also slice thinly with a sharp knife. Soak the apple slices in some lemon juice and water as you chop to keep them from turning brown and make them more pliable to place in the tart.
Start at the edge of the tart, laying each apple slice overlapping a bit over half way all around in concentric circles. The final slice you can roll up and place in the middle.
Glaze
Rose Tartes Aux Pommes (Apple Tart)
Ingredients
127g unsalted butter, softened
100g (1/2 cup) icing sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Apple compote filling
3 apples (gala)
juice of 1/2 lemon + 1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
Apple topping
3 to 4 apples (Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Gala, and Honeycrisp work well)
juice of 1/2 lemon + 1/2 cup water
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsps sugar
Glaze
1/3 cup plum or apricot jam
Instructions
Core and chop the apples into chunks. Cook in a pot on a low heat with the lemon juice and the lid on until the apples have fully softened, stirring occasionally. Add the vanilla. Transfer to a blender and blend till smooth.
Pâte Sucrée
Beat the softened butter and icing sugar in a bowl or stand mixer until creamy. Add the egg, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix until fully combined.
Add in the flour and salt, beat on a low speed until the dough just comes together and there is no more visible flour, be careful not to overmix. The dough should be creamy and smooth, if it appears a little dry add 1 tablespoon of cream/milk and mix till just combined.
Press the dough together into a round disk, wrap in food wrap and chill for at least 30mins, or you can freeze for later use. When ready to bake, remove the dough and let soften so that it’s still cool, but just soft enough to roll.
Roll the dough out to about 5mm thick and fit into a buttered 9” tart pan. Trim the top of the pastry by running a knife around the edge of the pan. Prick the bottom of the tart crust all over with a fork. Refrigerate for at least 30mins.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the tart crust with parchment paper and baking weights.
Blind bake for 20mins. Remove the pie weights and continue to bake for another 5-10mins until the crust is dry but hasn’t started taking on colour.
Assemble the tart
Spread the applesauce in a thick layer over the bottom of the tart crust.
Chop the apples into thin slices with a sharp knife or mandolin, letting them soak in the lemon and water to soften before using. For the rose pattern start at the edge of the crust lay the apple slices overlapping in concentric circles.
Brush on the melted butter and sprinkle the sugar all over the apples. Bake on a parchment lined baking tray at 350F for about 1hr till the crust turns golden and the apple slices are soft.
For the glaze sieve the jam for a smooth glaze. Once baked warm the glaze a little and brush a thick layer on top of the apples while the tart is still warm. If your jam is very thick you can add a little water to thin it before glazing.
Gorgeous! Thinking of making this for Thanksgiving, any idea how well this keeps overnight? Was going to try to make the night before but concerned the apples might brown…
Hi, it keeps great overnight, I’ve done it many times. You can definitely make it ahead time, I would just keep some extra glaze to add the day of as I find the glaze soaks in a bit. Hope you enjoy the tart!