Apple Frangipane Tart
Crisp buttery pastry? Thinly sliced tart apples? Sweet and light frangipane? Served with apple sage toffee? Yes, please! Sometimes you just have to get fancy!
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Roll out the pastry to be about 1 inch larger in diameter than to your tart tin. Roll out the pastry on some parchment paper to make the transfer into the tart tin a little easier. Lay the pastry into the tart tin. Don’t worry too much about tears. The pastry can be patched together. The pastry will shrink a bit while baking so be sure to build up the sides to be taller than the tart tin. Dock the bottom of the pastry. Chill the pastry in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm it up again. Then cover with a layer of parchment paper and pour in the pie-weight of your choosing.
Blind bake for 20 minutes.
Let the pastry to cool completely before filling the tart with a layer of frangipane and adding the apple topping.
Bake the tart for 55 minutes. If the apples are catching too quickly, cover the top of the tart with some aluminum foil. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes.
Let the tart cool on a cooling rack completely before removing the tart from the tin.
Glaze the top with an apple and sage toffee.
Short Crust Pastry
200 g AP Flour
125 g Unsalted Butter (Cold)
55 g Sugar
Pinch of Salt
2 - 4 Tbsp Cold Water
I used a food processor here since it is quick and easy but this can also just be done with just a mixing bowl and your fingers. Dealers choice. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the food processor. Cut the butter into cubes and add them to the food processor. Pulse on and off until the mixture resembles chunky sand. You want the butter in small bits but not for the mixture to turn smooth. Pour in the cold water a tablespoon at a time. Pulse on and off just until the mixture starts to clump and form together. Pour the mixture out on a work surface and form together into a disc. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight.
Frangipane
This recipe makes one batch of frangipane but you may need to make another batch depending on the size of your tart tin. I could only get a hold of an 11” tart tin so I had to make 1 and 1/2 batches in order to fill the tart.
80 g Almond Flour
60 g Unsalted Butter
50 g Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
20 g AP Flour
I used a food processor for this one as well. I tried making it with a hand mixer and a mixing bowl but when it came time to cream together the butter and sugar, I just made a huge mess. Butter and sugar absolutely everywhere!
Cream the butter and sugar together in the food processor until smooth and light. Scrap down the sides of the food processor every so often. Then add the almond flour and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined. Then add in the egg and pulse on and off until thoroughly combined. Then add in the AP flour and pulse on and off until just combined. Don’t over process at this step. You want to keep things light and fluffy.
Frangipane can be made in advanced and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Just take it out of the refrigerator about 10 minutes before you need to fill the tart to allow it to thaw a little.
Apple Topping
4 Honeycrisp Apples
4 Granny Smith Apples
1/2 tsp Cardamom
Pinch of Nutmeg
2 tsp Citric Acid
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
Cut the apples into halves and core them. Then use a mandolin to quickly create thin slices. Keep the sliced apples together so they can be fanned out and keep that petal-like shape. Place in a deep tray. Combine the cardamom, nutmeg, sugars, and citric acid together and sprinkle over the sliced apples. Gently rub around the apples, careful to keep the slices together. Cover the tray with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
I chose Honeycrisps and Granny Smiths because they are both pretty tart and serves as a nice contrast to all the sweetness. Honeycrisps are also my favorite. The amount of apples you will need to prepare will again depend on the size of your tart tin and the size of the apples. For my 11” tart tin, 8 apples was just enough to fill the top of the tart but the apples were also a little small. I would suggest preparing more than you think you need.
Because I wanted to create this flower pattern, I couldn’t cook the apples to draw out some of its moisture. I decided that macerating the apples would achieve the same effect. The added bit of citric acid also keeps the apples from discoloring so this can be prepared the night before and stored in the refrigerator. Be sure to reserve the liquid that comes out of the apples. It can be used to make the Apple Sage Toffee that I serve along side this tart.
Apple Sage Toffee
150 g Sugar
100 g Water
Apple Water (Reserved from the macerated apple slices)
1 sprig Sage
60 g Butter
Combine the sugar, water, apple water, and sage in a sauce pan. Simmer on medium to medium high heat until the liquid is evaporated and the sugar is a golden color. Remove the sage sprig. Take off the heat and stir in the butter. Gently brush over the tart for a shiny glaze. Pour the rest on a silpat and wait for it to set. Once hardened, place the toffee in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to break it into pieces.
