Whenever I ate apple tarts at bakeries, they were delicious but looked too intimidating to make. Then one time, I was all out of pie crust and had basic ingredients on hand. That one time was my lucky time because from now on I don't want to buy another crust dough, The dough is light and flaky while the apples are sweet and yummy. This apple tart is a true French perfection.
Ingredietns
Tart Shell
1 1/4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoon sugar (optional — this is my addition. I love a little sugar in a tart shell.)
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled, divided
1/4 tsp. table salt
Apple Filling
7 apples* peeled and cored
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup corn starch
1 tsp lemons juice
1/2 cup apricot jam, (optional)
*I used Gala apples, and I needed about 6 for my 9-inch tart pan.
Process
1. Combine flour, sugar, 8 tbsp. butter, and salt and work together with your hands to incorporate butter into flour. Drizzle in 3 tbsp. ice cold water and work it until dough is moistened. Clump it together to make sure it's not falling apart. Transfer the dough to a work surface and form into a flat disk; wrap in a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Peel, core and slice the apples.
(Note: This can be made up to three days in advance, You can follow this tutorial for a real fancy lay out of the apples. I do not have that much time on my hands so I just dumped the cut apples into the tart. Shall we say it's a rustic apple tart.)
2. Unwrap dough and transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, flatten dough into a 13″ circle and then transfer to a tart pan with a removable bottom; trim edges; chill for 15 minutes..
(Note: It may be easier to remove the bottom of the tart pan and roll the dough directly on it. It was a little tricky getting the dough into the pan after it was rolled out)
3. Heat oven to 350ยบ. Combine apples, sugars, corn starch, cinnamon and lemons juice in a bowl and toss it together to coat. Fill the tart with apple mixture and spread it out evenly. Bake for 45 minutes.
4. If you’re doing the apricot glaze: heat apricot jam in a small saucepan until warmed and loose; pour through a fine strainer into a small bowl and set aside. Transfer tart to a wire rack; using a pastry brush, brush top of tart with jam. Let cool completely before slicing and serving.
