Rose Apple Tart

Recipes

Audio By Carbonatix

It’s fall here in the greater NY area, although our weather is still gloriously summer-like. That means it’s the perfect time to enjoy autumn activities before the temperature drops. A favorite of my family is apple picking—something I had not experienced growing up in sunny Southern California, dotted in citrus groves. Like I said, though, it has become something we look forward to doing every September when the orchards in New York are full of gorgeous, crisp apples in varieties like Cortland, Empire, Jonagold, Macintosh, and everyone’s favorite—the Honeycrisp. If you live in the northeast, or anywhere else with local farms that offer apple picking, I highly recommend picking a peck or two. Then come home and make this gorgeous apple tart that looks like a rose. Gorgeous and delicious—c’est si bon! 

**Follow me on instagram for more adventures!**

Rose Apple tart 

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients:

For the Tart:

1½ cups/190 grams all-purpose flour

½ cup/65 grams confectioners' sugar

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

10 tablespoons/140 grams cold unsalted butter (1¼ sticks), cut into ½-inch pieces, plus more for greasing the pan

1 egg yolk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons cold water, as needed

For the Filling:

3 medium crisp, tart apples like

Honeycrisp, Empire or Cortland (about 1 pound)

¼ cup/50 grams sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces 

Large pinch of kosher salt

For the Glaze

3 tablespoons smooth apricot jam

**A few notes on making this tart**

•  A food scale makes baking, especially pastry, so much simpler—no measuring cups needed—simply place your mixing bowl on a scale and zero out the scale, then add each ingredient, zeroing out the scale in between each addition. Click here for my favorite scale.
• Making your own pastry dough is always worth it, but if you want a shortcut, store bought pastry will work.
• As noted below, a mandoline slicer will make slicing your apples thin and uniform super easy, but it’s not necessary. If you want to use one, this one is good.
• If you do make the pastry, a food processor is quick and convenient, but also not necessary—a pastry cutter will work.
• The butter used for the pastry dough should be very cold—I put mine in the freezer for about 30 minutes before I make the dough.

Directions

• 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 4 pieces: Stand the apples up, with the stems facing up, and, using a sharp knife, cut two faces off each side of the apple, then slice the two remaining sides from the core. You should have a square-shaped piece of core left and 4 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 ⅛-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 (or mix the jam and water in a small bowl and microwave for a few seconds). 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.