Thin Apple Tart
The apple tart is France’s answer to American apple pie. (Or maybe it’s the other way around, but really, who’s keeping score?) The light and buttery crust is a delicious home for overlapping slices of lightly seasoned apples. Rolling the dough over a bed of sugar fuses the granules to the crust, creating a sugary layer that caramelizes into a tantalizingly crisp outer shell as the tart bakes. I like to serve this with crème anglaise—a silky vanilla-infused pourable custard—flavored with apple’s favorite spice, cinnamon. It adds just the right amount of richness to the elegant tart. A little ice cream on the side—vanilla or caramel, for example—wouldn’t hurt either.
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Tart Dough
Apples
CINNAMON CRÈME ANGLAISE
Preparation
Step 1
To make the tart dough, whisk together the sour cream and egg yolk in a small bowl.
Step 2
Put the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter over the top of the flour and pulse 6 to 8 times, until the butter resembles coarse crumbs. Add the sour cream mixture and pulse until the dough just comes together. Scrape the dough onto a flat surface, flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until the dough is cold, at least 1 hour and up to 2 weeks.
Step 3
Spread the sugar over a flat surface. Place the disk of dough on the sugar and turn to coat in the sugar. Roll the dough out to a 14-inch circle that’s 1/8 inch thick, flipping the dough once in the sugar during the rolling. Using a 12-inch plate as your guide, cut out the dough into a 12-inch round. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Step 5
To prepare the apples, combine the apple juice, lemon juice, sugars, and cinnamon in a small saucepan and cook, whisking occasionally, over high heat until slightly thickened and reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Cover the glaze and keep warm.
Step 6
Slice the apple halves crosswise into paper-thin (about 1/16-inch) slices. Arrange the slices, overlapping them slightly, on the pastry round. Brush the tops of the apples with some of the warm glaze. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake the tart until the apples are soft and the pastry is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
Step 7
Remove from the oven and immediately brush the tops of the apples with more of the warm apple glaze. Using a large metal spatula, carefully transfer the tart to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Step 8
Ladle some of the cinnamon crème anglaise onto large dinner plates and top with a slice of the apple tart.
CINNAMON CRÈME ANGLAISE
Step 9
Prepare an ice bath by placing a medium bowl inside a larger bowl filled half full with ice water.
Step 10
Put the milk, cream, cinnamon, cinnamon stick, and vanilla bean and seeds in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Remove from the heat.
Step 11
Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the hot milk mixture. Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean, and return the entire mixture to the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, over medium-low heat until the custard thickens and leaves a path on the back of the spoon when you draw your finger across, about 2 minutes.
Step 12
Strain the custard into the bowl set in the ice bath and stir until chilled. Cover and refrigerate until cold, 3 hours or overnight.
