French Apple Tart

Tuesday with Dorie

Contributing Baker: Leslie Mackie

We are back baking with Julia this week with another recipe from Leslie Mackie. This one is a little time consuming, but so worth the effort. Instead of using a fluted tart pan, I made a rustic tart using a 10-inch springform pan. I did this primarily because my dough was a little crumbly and I found it was easier to press it into a springform pan. I probably should have added a tad more ice water to the dough before shaping it into a disc and chilling it. I used both butter and shortening that the recipe called for. 

I think what I enjoyed most about making this tart was making the filling. I used Gala apples instead of Granny Smith because I had an abundance of Galas in the fridge. Since I was using Galas, I cut down on the amount of sugar since they are sweet apples. I made my bread crumbs with Oatnut bread and added extra cinnamon. When the apple mixture was baking in the oven it had such a lovely smell. Once the apple filling was baked, it was easy to mash and spread over the tart shell and it tasted wonderful. I could have eaten a whole bowl of just the filling!

Slicing the apples into even slices is always tricky for me, but it worked out okay and we just ate the pieces that didn't make it into the tart.

I really liked the glaze on this which was made with melted unsalted butter lightly spread over the apple slices with a pastry brush (I used a silicone brush) and then sprinkled with sugar. My tart took longer to bake to a nice golden color. I took it out of the oven at 40 minutes.

There was hardly any shrinking with the apples or the tart shell and it makes such a nice presentation, but most of all, it tastes wonderful. The filling is so delicious and the bread crumbs give it such a nice texture and taste with the soft apples. The crust is flaky and actually held together quite well considering it was crumbly before I baked it.

Out of all the apple tarts I have made, this is my favorite and it a keeper recipe. A special thank you goes to Gaye over at Laws of the Kitchen for hosting this week. It is summer where she lives in Australia and I really appreciate that she turned her oven on when it is so hot there. You can see her gorgeous tart and find the recipe on her blog. Also, check out what the rest of the bakers thought about this tart at Tuesdays with Dorie.