Lionel Poilanes Apple Tart Recipes

TOURTIERE (APPLE, PRUNE AND ARMAGNAC TART)

Steps:

• To prepare the tourtiere you will need a large, round, shallow baking pan; a 16-inch paella pan is perfect.
• Peel the apples, quarter them and slice very thin. In a mediumsize saucepan combine the apples, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water and cook over medium-high heat until quite dry, or for about 20 minutes. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, combine the prunes and Armagnac and allow them to marinate while the apples cook.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Dampen a large cloth towel and drape it over the phyllo dough to prevent it from drying out.
• Drain the prunes and combine them with the cooked apples. Reserve the Armagnac or rum.
• Using a pastry brush, lightly oil the bottom and sides of the baking pan.
• Place the tourtiere in the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, then reduce the oven temperature to 300 and cook an additional hour. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve either hot, at room temperature or gently reheated, cutting into pie-shaped wedges.
• Spoon the apple-and-prune mixture in a single layer on top of the fourth sheet of dough, covering the bottom and sides of the pastry. Be sure to keep the unused phyllo dough covered as you continue to work.
• Continue with the rest of the phyllo dough, layering sheet by sheet, covering each sheet with a sprinkling of sugar and a sprinkling of Armagnac, until you have used all the sugar, Armagnac and dough. Use about 10 sheets, or layers, in all.
• Trim off any overlapping pastry from the edges so they are even and sprinkle the trimmings on top of the last layer of pastry.
• Center one sheet of phyllo dough in the baking pan and sprinkle generously with sugar and Armagnac. Do this three more times until you have four sheets of phyllo.

LIONEL POILANE'S APPLE TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Divide the dough into four equal portions and, on a flour-dusted surface, roll each portion into a six-inch circle. Place the circles of dough on a baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to bake.
• Peel and core the apples, then cut them into 12 pieces (an apple corer and slicer can be used for this). Heat the butter until hot, but not smoking, in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the apples with the granulated sugar, then saute until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
• Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and spoon the apples into the center of the prepared pastry rounds, dividing them evenly. Fold the edges of the dough up over the rim of the apples to form a one-inch border. Brush the border with the beaten egg.
• Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the apples with brown sugar and serve warm or at room temperature. (Alternatively, to form a single large tart, the dough can be rolled into a 12-inch circle and all of the apples can be placed in the center. Increase baking time by about 10 minutes to bake the tart fully.)

GOLDEN CREAM AND APPLE TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with a fork. Add the cream and three tablespoons of the sugar. Mix until well blended and set aside.
• Peel and core the apples. Cut them in half. Cut each half into quarters. Starting just inside the edge of the pastry shell, neatly layer the apple slices - slightly overlapping them - in two or three concentric circles, working toward the center. Pour the cream mixture over the apples. Sprinkle with the remaining two tablespoons of sugar.
• Bake until the cream filling is set and the apples are very brown, even slightly blackened at the edges, about 45 minutes. Remove to a rack to cook. Serve warm or at room temperature.