French Apple Tart Or Tarte Aux Pommes Recipe

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French Apple Tart
Tarte aux Pommes

There are 13 ingredients needed for a classic French Apple Tart or a Tarte aux Pommes. It may seem like a lot, but really, this is quite simple to make and often one of the first things taught to French children when their mothers or grandmothers show them how to bake.

First, the ingredients for the short pastry shell or a pate brisee sucree:
1. 1 C all-purpose flour
2. 1/2 C cake flour
3. 3 T sugar
4. 1 egg
5. 1 T water
6. 1 T vanilla extract
7. 8 T (1 stick) of butter, softened
8. 1 egg, beaten (for brushing on pastry shell before pre-baking)

On a cool work surface, make your combined flours into a well (a circle of flour). In the center add the rest of your ingredients and work them together with your fingertips or a fork. Gradually add the flour into your wet ingredients taking from the inner side of the circle. You can use a pastry scraper to help you, but it is optional. When the dough starts to form into a ball, knead the dough gently, pushing it away from you with the heel of your hand, until it is smooth. Do not overwork your dough. Dust your dough lightly, place in plastic wrap or moist linen and refrigerate for about a half hour. Then flour your work surface and roll out your dough into a disk slightly larger than your tart pan. Prick your pastry dough with a fork, brush on beaten egg, and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes. Blind bake or pre-bake the dough at 350 degrees F. for about 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden. Optionally, you can use pastry weights such as beans, rice or a slightly smaller pan. Let shell cool.

Then, the ingredients for your tart filling:
9. 3/4 C applesauce
10. 3 to 4 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
11. Juice of 1 lemon
12. 1/4 cup sugar + 1 to 2 T to sprinkle over the top of tart
13. 1/2 to 3/4 C apricot jam to spread over baked apple pie

Macerate (like marinating, but for fruits) apples with lemon juice and sugar while pastry is pre-baking. Spread applesauce in cooled, pre-baked shell. Arrange apple slices in a pleasing design of your choice such as in overlapping circles. Sprinkle additional sugar over the top of the apples. Bake at 375 degrees F. for about 25 minutes or until apples are tender and golden. While tart is baking, warm the jam in a small saucepan. Optionally, if the jam is a bit too thick, you can add 1 to 2 Tablespoons of water, alcohol or vanilla extract. Let tart cool a bit, then brush the jam over the apples.


Join me on Friday for a great roundup of Fall Pies and Tarts. Come back to share your recipes or to find some new favorites. Click on the link for all the details.