Monday, January 11, 2010

apple tart

When we were invited to a dinner party with friends last weekend, we offered to bring dessert. I made a carrot cake and Jean-Marc made an apple tart. He's very good at cooking and baking, and tarts are one of his specialties. With this tart, he tried something new: he put a layer of homemade applesauce on the crust before adding the sliced apples. The applesauce was made earlier in the week from apples from a friend's orchard. It was a good addition to the pie and I would recommend trying it!


apple tart

crust (see the alternative crust down below)
1 3/4 cups flour (200g)
1/2 cup of butter (125g)
pinch of salt (if butter is not salted)
1-2 tablespoons of cold water

filling
6-8 medium apples
applesauce (optional)
1 egg, beaten
cinnamon & sugar for sprinkling

directions
For the crust, cut the butter into little chunks and mix it into the flour and salt (if using) with either a knife, pastry cutter or your fingers. Once the mixture resembles a coarse meal, add the water one tablespoon at a time. You may need more or less water, depending on the temperature and the weather, so add a little, mix a lot and then see if you need to add some more. Too much water will make the crust hard. Knead the dough until it holds together. More folding and smearing with your palms will create more of a flaky pastry. Set aside to rest.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. (190 degrees C.) and grease your pie pan. (I don't grease the pan, but Jean-Marc swears by it.) Peel and cut the apples into slices - each quarter apple should give you at least 4 slices.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a circle about an inch larger than your pie pan. Flip the dough into the pan and tuck in the edges. Spread a little applesauce along the bottom of the crust (1/4" deep) and begin to place the apple slices vertically around the edge of the pie. Start placing the rest of the slices horizontally around the pie until you have at least three layers. Take the beaten egg and brush it all over the top of the pie and then sprinkle the whole thing with a little cinnamon and sugar. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the crust and the apples are brown (our oven was a little too hot, so it got very dark brown!).

Additional Note:
I just made this tart again and this time I switched up the crust ingredients to make it slightly sweeter.  It turned out really well!

alternative crust ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
pinch salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon water





As for the carrot cake, it's the third one I've made since I've been here and I'm still trying to figure out the best recipe. It was good, but I feel there are some changes to make.

1 comment:

  1. Pierto said...
    Miam, ça m'a l'air délicieux ! Tout comme ce blog d'ailleurs : quand me feras-tu goûter une belle tarte comme ça ? :p

    ReplyDelete