Deluxe Apple Tart Recipes

CLASSIC APPLE TART

Steps:

• Set the cubed butter on a plate and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Fill a cup with ice and water and set aside. Place 1 1/2 of the flour, 1 8 teaspoon of the salt, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Take the butter out of the freezer and add it to the flour. Pulse the mixture until it looks like wet sand, about 10 seconds. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the ice water and pulse until the dough comes together into a ball.
• Lightly flour your work surface and place the dough on top. Then lightly flour the top of the dough and roll to about a 10- to 11-inch circle, sprinkling more flour under and on top of the dough as necessary. Gently drape the dough over the rolling pin and transfer it to a 9- or 9 1/2-inch fluted tart pan (ideally one with a removable bottom). Fit the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan as evenly as possible and press off excess dough from the fluted rim. Set the tart pan on a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350degreesF. Peel, core, and quarter the apples and then thinly slice them lengthwise. Place the apples in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice, the cinnamon, and the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 8 teaspoon salt. Remove the baking sheet with the tart shell from the refrigerator. Arrange the apples in concentric circles so they overlap slightly. Brush the edges of the crust with the melted butter and then bake until the edges are golden and the apples have cooked down, about 1 hour. Cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

ROSE APPLE TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Combine the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter pieces on top, and pulse until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract, and pulse until incorporated. Pulse in the water, about 2 teaspoons at a time, until the dough starts to hold together. It will appear to be a bit crumbly, but should hold together easily when pressed.
• Lightly butter a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, and pour the dough mixture into it. Press the mixture evenly on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. (Use a lightly floured straight-sided measuring cup to help press the dough into the corners of the pan.) Reserve extra dough to repair any cracks after the shell is baked.
• Freeze the formed dough in the pan until completely firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Line the tart shell with a piece of aluminum foil, making sure to tuck it into the corners and over the edges. Bake the shell for 20 to 25 minutes or until the dough appears dry and lightly golden. If the dough puffs up while baking, gently press it back into the pan with an offset spatula or similar tool. If necessary, repair any cracks with the remaining raw dough. Cool slightly while you prepare the apples.
• Cut the apples from their cores in 3 pieces: Stand the apples up, with the stems facing up, and, using a sharp knife, cut 1 face of the apple, then rotate the apple about 120 degrees, slice again, and finally slice the last piece from the core. You should have a triangle-shaped piece of core left and 3 pieces of apple with flat bottoms.
• Reserve a smaller piece of apple, and carefully slice all the other apples into very thin half-moons, about 1/8-inch thick. (A mandoline makes this move quickly, but, if you are using a knife and working slowly, it's a good idea to squeeze a little bit of lemon juice over the sliced apples to prevent browning.) Make sure to keep the slices together as you cut to make the assembly easier.
• Once the apples are sliced, build the tart: Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon sugar on the bottom of the blind-baked tart shell. Starting at the outer edge, arrange the apples in tight concentric circles, overlapping each slice about halfway over its neighbor. Take care to stand the apples up vertically, with the cut edges down and the peel edge pointing up. Pack the rows very tightly, stopping periodically to check your work.
• As you move toward the center, the apples will become trickier to bend into place. If you find the slices are breaking, slice the reserved piece of apple even thinner to make it easier to bend. Roll the last few slices into a circle and tuck it in the center.
• Sprinkle the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and a pinch of salt over the apple slices. Take care to sprinkle the sugar between the apple slices, rather than on top. Scatter the butter pieces on top, and bake the tart for 40 to 45 minutes or until the apples begin to brown just slightly on the edges and the crust is a deep golden brown. Check the tart periodically to make sure the shell is not over-browning at the edges. If it is, cover the edges with foil.
• Cool the tart on a rack for about 10 minutes, then prepare the glaze: In a small saucepan, warm the jam and a few drops of water over medium-low heat until it is runny. Use a pastry brush to very gently brush the warm tart with jam. Avoid brushing jam on the crust, but a thin layer all over the apple slices. Serve warm or room temperature.

SOUR CREAM APPLE PIE DELUXE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Press the pie crust into and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate.
• In a medium bowl, stir together 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, and salt. Mix in the sour cream, egg and vanilla until smooth. Add apples, and stir to coat. Scrape the mixture into the pie shell.
• Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 30 minutes more.
• While the pie is baking, prepare the topping in a medium bowl. Stir together 1/3 cup of flour, 1/3 cup sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
• After the 30 minute bake time has passed, cover the top of the pie with the crumb topping, and continue to bake for 15 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned and apples are tender. Allow the pie to cool, then refrigerate until chilled before serving.

DELUXE APPLE TART

Steps:

• Crust: 1 - in medium bowl, knead flour, butter, salt, 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons water until dough forms a ball, adding a little more water if it is needed. 2 - Pat pastry into bottom and up side of 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom; refrigerate piecrust. Top layer: 3 - Quarter 3 apples; with sharp knife, peel, core and cut in 1/8-inch-thick slices to make 3 cups. 4 - In medium bowl with spoon, toss apples with lemon juice and 2 tablespoons sugar. Sauce: 5 - Peel and core remaining apples; cut into chunks. In blender, puree 1/4 cup water and 1/3 of apple chunks. Add remaining chunks, 1/3 at a time; blend until smooth. In 3-quart pan, heat puree, 1/3 cup apricot preserves and 1/4 cup sugar to boiling. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, 20 minutes or until very thick, stirring frequently. Assemble: 6 - Spread apple sauce (about 1 1/2 cups) evenly over piecrust. Preheat oven to 400 deg F. 7 - Place apple slices, closely overlapping, in concentric circles on pie. Bake 45 minutes or until apple is tender and lightly browned. Remove to rack. 8 - Strain remaining apricot preserves through sieve into 1-quart saucepan and stir in 1 tablespoon sugar. 9 - Over medium-high heat, heat to boiling; cook 2 minutes more or until mixture coats spoon. 10-Brush the apricot mixture evenly over pie. Cool pie on wire rack. Remove pan side to serve.

DELUXE APPLE TART

Steps:

• Prepare pastry:.
• In medium bowl with fingertips, quickly knead flour, butter, salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 2 tablespoons water until dough forms a ball, adding more water if necessary 1 teaspoon at a time.
• Pat pastry into bottom and up side of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom; refrigerate.
• Peel, quarter, and core 3 apples and cut into even 1/8 inch slices to make about 3 cups.
• In a medium bowl, toss apple slices with lemon juice and 2 tablespoons sugar.
• Peel and core remaining apples; cut into chunks.
• In blender or food processor, combine 1/4 cup water with about 1/3 of the apple chunks.
• Cover and process at high speed until apples are pureed.
• Add remaining apple chunks, a third at a time; blend until smooth.
• Spoon into a 3 quart saucepan; stir in 1/3 cup apricot preserves and 2 tablespoons sugar.
• Over high heat, heat to boiling.
• Reduce heat to medium-high; cook, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until very thick. There should be about 1 1/2 cups applesauce.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Spread applesauce evenly over pastry.
• Arrange reserved apple slices, closely overlapping, to form concentric circles around pie.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until apples slices are tender and lightly browned.
• Remove pie to wire rack.
• Strain remaining apricot preserves through a sieve into a small saucepan.
• Over medium-high heat, heat to boiling.
• Continue cooking about 2 minutes longer or until mixture is thick enough to coat a spoon.
• Brush mixture evenly over top of tart.
• Cool tart in pan on rack.
• Remove outer ring of tart pan before serving.

ULTIMATE APPLE PIE

Steps:

• Put a layer of paper towels on a large baking sheet. Quarter, core, peel and slice the apples about 5mm thick and lay evenly on the baking sheet. Put paper towels on top and set aside while you make and chill the pastry.
• For the pastry, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until just mixed. Break in a whole egg and a yolk (keep the white for glazing later). Beat together for just under 1 min - it will look a bit like scrambled egg. Now work in the flour with a wooden spoon, a third at a time, until it's beginning to clump up, then finish gathering it together with your hands. Gently work the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film, and chill for 45 mins. Now mix the 140g/5oz sugar, the cinnamon and flour for the filling in a bowl that is large enough to take the apples later.
• After the pastry has chilled, heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Lightly beat the egg white with a fork. Cut off a third of the pastry and keep it wrapped while you roll out the rest, and use this to line a pie tin - 20-22cm round and 4cm deep - leaving a slight overhang. Roll the remaining third to a circle about 28cm in diameter. Pat the apples dry with kitchen paper, and tip them into the bowl with the cinnamon-sugar mix. Give a quick mix with your hands and immediately pile high into the pastry-lined tin.
• Brush a little water around the pastry rim and lay the pastry lid over the apples pressing the edges together to seal. Trim the edge with a sharp knife and make 5 little slashes on top of the lid for the steam to escape. (Can be frozen at this stage.) Brush it all with the egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake for 40-45 mins, until golden, then remove and let it sit for 5-10 mins. Sprinkle with more sugar and serve while still warm from the oven with softly whipped cream.

INDIVIDUAL RUSTIC APPLE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat; set aside. Roll out dough to a 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out six 6-inch rounds. Transfer rounds to prepared baking sheet. Reserve dough scraps for another use.
• Combine apples, sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Toss to combine. Sprinkle each dough round with sugar. Place 1 tablespoon of applesauce in center of each round. Mound apples over applesauce, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold dough up and over apples, making a crease or fold every 1 to 2 inches to enclose fruit and prevent juices from seeping out. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Lightly beat egg to make egg wash. Brush edges of dough with egg wash, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until apples are tender and crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes.