Last December, we moved into a new home in Marin County, CA. The home came with a lovingly landscaped, tiered garden full of flowers and trees. This fall, we are reaping the benefits from an apple tree which is producing vibrantly green fruit. The apples themselves however are a bit sour, so I figured the perfect way to use them is in a lighty-sweetened tart or pie.

We used a defrosted puff pastry sheet to speed things up a bit, rolled it out to the proper size and topped it with all the lovely, pale green apple slices. I squeezed some fresh lemon, also from a tree in our yard, all over the slices and sprinkled them with the sugar.

When it came out of the oven it looked pretty, but it wasn’t until I brushed on the apricot jam wash that it shimmered with golden tones. After letting it cool on a rack for about 10 minutes, we dove in. I topped my piece with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The apple tart was a pretty to look at, lightly sweet, and flaky crusted alternative to the average dessert.  

French Apple Tart

Recipe from: Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, by Ina Garten, 2008

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

For the pastry (OR use 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, defrosted, rolled out to 10 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches):

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 12 Tbsp.  (1½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
• ½ cup ice water

For the apples:

• 4 Granny Smith apples
• ½ cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp. (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, small-diced
• ½ cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam (see note)
• 2 Tbsp. Calvados, rum, or water

Directions:

1. If making your own pastry instead of using frozen puff pastry sheet, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 x 14 inches. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.
3. Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baller. Slice the apples crosswise in ¼-inch-thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (I tend not to use the apple ends in order to make the arrangement beautiful.)
4. Sprinkle with the full ½ cup sugar and dot with the butter.
5. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don’t worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine!
6. When the tart’s done, heat the apricot jelly together with the Calvados (or water) and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn’t stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.