French Apple Tart (Tarte aux Pommes)

A crisp pastry shell filled with apple puree, fanned with sliced apples, and glazed with apricot.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water
• 2 pounds apples, peeled (half for puree, half sliced)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup apricot jam, warmed and strained

Directions

1. Rub the butter into the flour, sugar, and salt, bind with the egg yolk and ice water, and chill 30 minutes.
2. Roll out and line a 10-inch tart pan; blind-bake at 400°F for 15 minutes.
3. Cook half the apples (chopped) with the 1/3 cup sugar, butter, and cinnamon to a thick puree, then cool slightly and spread in the shell.
4. Thinly slice the remaining apples and arrange them in overlapping concentric circles over the puree.
5. Bake at 375°F for about 30 minutes, until the apples are tender and lightly browned at the edges.
6. Brush the warm tart all over with the strained apricot jam to glaze, and cool before serving.

Notes

Our own version of the classic tarte aux pommes from Dione Lucas’s French dessert work.