This classic French apple tart from Judiaann Woo turns a few simple ingredients into a delicious dessert.
Optional: Make the tart dough and apple compote one day before serving.
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Serving Size
8
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Total Time
2 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
Pate Sucree (Tart Dough)
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 1/2 cup
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg, mixed with 1 teaspoon cold water
Apple Compote
2 pounds Golden Delicious apples (about 5-6 apples)
1/4 cup sugar or more to taste
2 tablespoons water
Seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean (optional)
Garnish
2 pounds Golden Delicious apples (about 5-6)
Juice of half a lemon
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup apple jelly or apricot jam for glaze
Directions
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Prepare Tart Dough. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add cold butter. Using your fingertips, working quickly to keep the warmth of your hands from melting the butter, pinch the butter into the flour mixture until sandy in appearance with no large pieces of visible butter.
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Form a well in the center of the four-butter mixture and add whisked egg and water mixture. Use your fingertips to blend, mix to combine until all the liquid has been absorbed into the dry, pressing dough together as needed.
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Gather dough together and shape into a round disc of even thickness. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling into a 10-inch diameter and shaping into an 8-inch tart mold. Refrigerate formed tart while you prepare the apple compote.
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Prepare Apple Compote. Peel, core, and chop apples into 1-inch chunks. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine apples, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla seeds, and water. Cook over medium-high heat until apples start to release their juices. Reduce heat to medium and cover the surface with a piece of parchment paper and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the apples are very tender, about 15 minutes. Add additional sugar to taste depending on the sweetness of the apples. Remove from heat and chill compote while preparing apples for the garnish.
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Preheat the oven to 425°F.
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Prepare Garnish. Peel, core, and slice apples into thin, no more than ⅛-inch thick slices. Place sliced apples in a large bowl and sprinkle with the juice of the remaining half of the lemon.
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Assemble Tart. Transfer chilled apple compote into the chilled tart mold, spreading evenly until level but not exceeding the depth of the tart. If you have extra compote, save for another use.
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Arrange the apple slices over the apple compote in tight concentric circles, overlapping so that none of the compote is visible from the top. Apples will shrink as they bake so be sure to generously squeeze in as many apple slices as possible until the entire surface is covered.
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Using a pastry brush, brush melted butter lightly over the entire surface of the tart and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of sugar.
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Place tart on a parchment paper lined sheet pan on the bottom rack of the oven and bake for ten minutes. After 10 minutes, lower oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for another hour or until the apples are caramelized along the edges.
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Remove tart from the oven and cool on a wire rack completely before unmolding.
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Warm apricot jam or apple jelly to make a glaze. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the entire top of the cooled tart with the glaze.
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Cut tart into wedges and serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (optional).
