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| Fine apple tart |
When we caught up with a couple of friends at Simon's Peiking Duck a couple of weeks ago, I offered to make dessert at our place. That way, we could do the early 6 PM seating, stuff our faces with amazing Peking duck, get out before the hungry customers for the 8 PM seating arrived, then get back home and relax over dessert and coffee. Genius idea, if I may say!
I wanted to make something that could be mostly prepared in advance and just finished off once we'd gotten home - and a fine apple tart fit the bill nicely. Now, I know this isn't the most original idea, but it is an excellent one, and something that I make whenever I want an easy and elegant dessert. Previously, I have made fine apple tarts just with pastry and sliced apple (see the one from Nigella Express, and one I made when I made my own puff pastry from scratch), but in 2010 I tried making one with a layer of frangipane as well, and it's so much better! The frangipane keeps the almond slices in place and absorbs any liquid they might give off, and its almondy cakiness smells and tastes delicious. I've never looked back!
So, on this particular afternoon, I defrosted the pastry, topped it with frangipane and apple slices just before we left for dinner (squeezing a little lemon juice over the sliced apples to prevent them from browning), and put it in the oven when we got back.
As I made it, I realised that every time I do, I end up flicking between different blog posts I've written and different recipe books in order to figure out the recipe. And you know what, I'm sick of that! Indeed, this time I was in such a rush that I made FOUR TIMES the amount of frangipane I'd need because I just went to my default frangipane recipe and forgot to adjust the quantities. Oops! (The leftover frangipane became the most amazing financiers the next day, so I guess I shouldn't complain!) So I've put the full recipe, with proper quantities, at the bottom of this post. Yay! (N.B. this evening, I made two tarts, but I think it was too much for four people, so in my recipe below I've given quantities for a single tart that will serve four. Scale up as you wish).
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| Fine Apple Tart |
These are so so easy to make, and look so impressive. I served it with vanilla bean ice-cream (of course), and this amazing salted butter caramel sauce I brought back from Paris with me. Delicious. (If you have any gourmet salted caramel sauce, bought on a whim and gathering dust in your pantry, then go with that, otherwise the tart will still be delicious just plain.)
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| Bretagne salted butter caramel sauce, salted butter caramel chips |
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| Tarte fine aux pommes avec coulis de salidou |
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| With caramel sauce and vanilla ice-cream |
Buttery, flaky, apple goodness, with a hint of almond-fragrant cakeiness. Wonderful. Enjoy!
Fine Apple Tart
Sarah's version of a classic recipe
Ingredients
1 sheet all-butter puff pastry
40 grams butter, melted and cooled
40 grams caster sugar
40 grams almond meal
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 apples
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Place the pastry on the baking paper. Using a butter knife, trace a border one centimetre in from the edge of the pastry, being careful not to cut the whole way through. Prick the pastry inside the border all over with a fork.
Whisk together the melted and cooled butter, caster sugar, almond meal, egg and vanilla extract until combined. Spread the almond mixture over the pastry, trying to keep it within the border.
Core and finely slice the apples. Arrange the slices in overlapping layers on top of the almond mixture. (If not baking immediately, squeeze a little lemon juice over the apple slices to prevent them from browning).
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the the pastry is cooked through and the tart is golden brown.
Serves 4
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| Fine apple tart |
When we caught up with a couple of friends at Simon's Peiking Duck a couple of weeks ago, I offered to make dessert at our place. That way, we could do the early 6 PM seating, stuff our faces with amazing Peking duck, get out before the hungry customers for the 8 PM seating arrived, then get back home and relax over dessert and coffee. Genius idea, if I may say!
I wanted to make something that could be mostly prepared in advance and just finished off once we'd gotten home - and a fine apple tart fit the bill nicely. Now, I know this isn't the most original idea, but it is an excellent one, and something that I make whenever I want an easy and elegant dessert. Previously, I have made fine apple tarts just with pastry and sliced apple (see the one from Nigella Express, and one I made when I made my own puff pastry from scratch), but in 2010 I tried making one with a layer of frangipane as well, and it's so much better! The frangipane keeps the almond slices in place and absorbs any liquid they might give off, and its almondy cakiness smells and tastes delicious. I've never looked back!
So, on this particular afternoon, I defrosted the pastry, topped it with frangipane and apple slices just before we left for dinner (squeezing a little lemon juice over the sliced apples to prevent them from browning), and put it in the oven when we got back.
As I made it, I realised that every time I do, I end up flicking between different blog posts I've written and different recipe books in order to figure out the recipe. And you know what, I'm sick of that! Indeed, this time I was in such a rush that I made FOUR TIMES the amount of frangipane I'd need because I just went to my default frangipane recipe and forgot to adjust the quantities. Oops! (The leftover frangipane became the most amazing financiers the next day, so I guess I shouldn't complain!) So I've put the full recipe, with proper quantities, at the bottom of this post. Yay! (N.B. this evening, I made two tarts, but I think it was too much for four people, so in my recipe below I've given quantities for a single tart that will serve four. Scale up as you wish).
|
| Fine Apple Tart |
These are so so easy to make, and look so impressive. I served it with vanilla bean ice-cream (of course), and this amazing salted butter caramel sauce I brought back from Paris with me. Delicious. (If you have any gourmet salted caramel sauce, bought on a whim and gathering dust in your pantry, then go with that, otherwise the tart will still be delicious just plain.)
|
| Bretagne salted butter caramel sauce, salted butter caramel chips |
|
| Tarte fine aux pommes avec coulis de salidou |
|
| With caramel sauce and vanilla ice-cream |
Buttery, flaky, apple goodness, with a hint of almond-fragrant cakeiness. Wonderful. Enjoy!
Fine Apple Tart
Sarah's version of a classic recipe
Ingredients
1 sheet all-butter puff pastry
40 grams butter, melted and cooled
40 grams caster sugar
40 grams almond meal
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 apples
Method
Preheat the oven to 220C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Place the pastry on the baking paper. Using a butter knife, trace a border one centimetre in from the edge of the pastry, being careful not to cut the whole way through. Prick the pastry inside the border all over with a fork.
Whisk together the melted and cooled butter, caster sugar, almond meal, egg and vanilla extract until combined. Spread the almond mixture over the pastry, trying to keep it within the border.
Core and finely slice the apples. Arrange the slices in overlapping layers on top of the almond mixture. (If not baking immediately, squeeze a little lemon juice over the apple slices to prevent them from browning).
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the the pastry is cooked through and the tart is golden brown.
Serves 4
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