French Apple Tart

 An easy and deliciously light apple tart, serve as is or with a dollop of fresh cream or ice-cream.

 Ingredients:

For the pastry:

• 280g plain flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 T organic sugar
• 110g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 120ml ice water

For the apple topping:

• 4 large or 6 small organic apples
• 20g organic sugar
• 55g cold unsalted butter, small diced
• 2T apricot jam or warm sieved apricot preserve
• 2 tbsp Calvados, rum or water

 

 

 

Method:

For the pastry, place the plain flour, salt and sugar in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Stir lightly to combine. Add the butter and pulse 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. Remove the dough and quickly knead into a ball. Place in a bowl and cover with a silicon cover or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a sheet pan with baking paper. Roll out the dough very thinly and trim the edges. Place the dough on sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.

Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores. Slice the apples crosswise in thin 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.

Sprinkle the apples with the sugar and dot with the butter. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown.

Just before the tart is baked, heat the apricot jam together with the Calvados.

Once you have removed the tart, brush the apples and the pastry with the warm jam mixture. 

Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.