French Apple Tart (With Almond Filling)
It's a fruit tart that's as delicious as it is pretty! French Apple Tart has a sweet almond filling with sliced almonds, a buttery pastry crust, and spirals of fresh apple slices.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 347kcal
Ingredients
- 3 medium Cortland apples
- 3 medium Granny Smith apples* (see note at bottom)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 12 ounces Best-Loved Flaky Pie Crust Recipe, chilled (½ of the amount the recipe makes)
- 8 ounces almond paste, grated
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- ¼ cup sea salt caramel sauce
- 2 tablespoons apple jelly
Instructions
Prepare the apples:
- Wash and peel the apples. Slice the apples into quarters, then cut away the seeds and core from each quarter.
- Cut the quarters into thin slices.
- Place the slices in a bowl, and then carefully toss them with the lemon juice. (Don't break them.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it aside.
Prepare the dough:
- Take the chilled Best-Loved Flaky Pie Crust dough and roll it out on a floured surface. Roll the dough into a circle approximately 13 inches in diameter.
- Pick up the dough by loosely draping it over the rolling pin. Place it inside a 10-inch nonstick spring-form pan (or a regular spring-form pan that has been greased.)
- Gently center the dough in the pan and press into the bottom. With floured fingers press the dough around the sides creating a lip that is about 1½ inches high. Use a fork to prick a few holes over the bottom. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place the pan in the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Prepare the almonds and almond paste:
- Use a grater to grate the almond paste into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in the sugar and eggs, and beat them together well. Slowly mix in the flour. Set this almond mixture aside.
- Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place the slivered almonds in the pan, and toast them: shake and stir the almonds often and watch carefully to prevent burning. When done they should be very lightly browned and fragrant - approximately 5 minutes.
- Pour the almonds out onto a cutting board and use a sharp knife to coarsely chop them.
Assemble the tart:
- Take the pan with dough from the fridge. Pour the almond-sugar mixture into the dough shell.
- Use a rubber spatula or spoon to gently spread the filling evenly over the bottom. Sprinkle the chopped, toasted almonds over the filling.
- Drizzle the sea salt caramel sauce over the chopped almonds. (Warm it in a microwave if necessary.)
- Place the apple slices edge-down around the outside edge of the filling, against the inside of the pan, overlapping each slice by about half.
- Continue to add in rings of apple slices, spiraling the slices toward the center.
- For the very center, use very thin slices of apple: these will be flexible enough to gently roll so you can fit them into the center.
Bake it:
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes, checking occasionally to be sure apples and dough are not over-browning. (You can drape a piece of foil over the top if it's browning too quickly.)
- When done, the apples and crust will be lightly browned, and the almond filling will look puffed.
- Place the pan on a cooling rack, and run a thin knife between the pan wall and the crust to be sure it isn't sticking. Let the tart cool for 15 minutes.
- Release the latch on the spring-form and carefully remove the ring.
Glaze the top:
- Microwave the apple jelly in a small dish for about 25 seconds until it has melted. Use a pastry brush to spread the melted jelly gently over the top of the apples and crust.
- Allow the tart to cool completely.
Serve:
- Use a sharp knife to cut the tart into slices and serve.
- Makes about 12 slices — more for you if you hide the tart from your kids. :)
Notes
- Six or seven apples should give you plenty of slices to cover this tart - maybe even a few extra. It's better to have too many slices, in case some slice break. How tightly you spiral the apples will also affect the number that you need.
- Leftover apple slices can be eaten right away or tossed with lemon juice to save for later.
- The recipe for the almond paste filling came from Odense.com (makers of almond paste.)
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 148mg | Potassium: 216mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 98IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 1mg
