Dec 06, 2018, Updated Sep 23, 2024
This apple tart is rustic and simple.
In food speak, that means endearingly imperfect and unquestionably homemade. See, an apple tart masquerading as a galette is the easiest of apple tarts. The only difference between a galette and a tart is the unfussiness of the latter. There’s no messing with finicky pastry, you simply roll it out. Whatever shape it ends up is just fine. Freeform all the way, baby. The recipe starts with an easy, all-butter crust. Chilled ingredients are important for flakiness, so I call for cold butter and ice water to be used.
3 reasons you need to let the dough chill:
Refrigerating the dough serves many purposes: Chill time is non-negotiable for a crust that is tender and holds its shape. So don’t skip it.
Use your food processor.
Make both the apple tart dough and the almond filling in a food processor. There’s no need to wash it between uses. Easy cleanup! The blades of the food processor cut through the butter without warming it as your hands would, which aids the goal of a flaky crust. (I have the KitchenAid 7-cup food processor and love it – it’s the easiest I’ve owned for ease of assembly and use.) To make the frangipane almond cream filling, whiz some blanched almonds in the food processor with sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. A few drops of pure almond extract is a welcome addition, but don’t rush out and buy a bottle unless you’ll use it for other recipes, too. You could alternatively make the pastry by hand with a pastry cutter and use your blender for the frangipane.
Assemble the tart.
Roll out the dough to a shape that fits on your baking sheet and trim the edges with a knife to tidy them up. Spoon the frangipane onto the tart dough leaving a 2″ border. Arrange thin slices of apple over top, sprinkle with a squeeze of lemon, and then fold the pastry edges over to hold everything in. In the oven, the almond cream puffs up and peeks out around the apples, forming a delicious, caramelized crust. The richness of the frangipane negates any need for sugar in the apple topping. This apple tart is a totally worthy alternative to fancy pies at a holiday dinner. It’s impressive and delicious and deceptively easy. AKA everything you want in a special dessert.
