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Elegant Apple Tart

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This beautiful Apple Tart will make you look like the ultimate baker. In reality, this is an easy apple tart that even a beginner can make. I promise!

This tart features a crispy flaky crust, topped with a simple apple sauce, and sliced apples and baked to perfection. It’s even glazed with a simple honey or apricot jam glaze for that perfect fruit tart appearance.

I mean c’mon who doesn’t want this gorgeous tart as the crowning glory for their Fall harvest dinner or the Thanksgiving dessert table??

EAsy Apple Tart

And when I say EASY APPLE TART I mean it! This elegant dessert calls for nothing harder than making a crust. And I’ll walk you through making a tart crust step by step, it’s easy and it’s going to be delicious.

The secrets to a Good Pie or Tart Crust

I’ve been happily making pie crusts on my own ever since I discovered that the store-bought folded or rolled crust always split and ruined my pies. I decided once and for all the just make my own. Once I figured it out, it was easy. Here are a few things I’ve learned in making pie crusts or tart crusts.

  • Keep it all cold–everything, the butter speicfically but don’t use a food processor or bowl straight out of the dishwasher the colder the better is one of the ways to make a succesfull crust
  • use a food processor to keep your warm hands out of the butter and keep it from melting–no food processor? Use a pastry blender or 2 knives to chop the butter as finely as possible
  • mix the dry ingredients together AND THEN add the butter
  • once the butter goes in you pulse and pulse until it’s chopped finely and everything looks like crumbs
  • THEN you add the liquid slowly and pulse pulse pulse until the dough comes together in a ball–then you stop adding liquid
  • when making a crust with an egg in it like this one I mix the egg and water together and pour them in together
  • refrigerate the dough after making it either in two disks for pie dough OR in this case you press it into a tart pan and then refrigerate it

Do I need any special Equipment to make this apple tart?

What kind of Apples should I use in an APple Tart?

What are the best apples for tarts and pies? For green apples, I can’t recommend the granny smith apple enough. It holds it’s shape in baking plus it’s tangy and delicious once baked. It’s my favorite baking apple.

For red apples, I either use a Jonagold (even though they are sometimes more gold than red!) OR a Honeycrisp. Both of these make my “best apples for pies and tarts” list year after year. One more contender is the Braeburn, one of my all-time favorite apples. They hold up well to baking, meaning they don’t turn to mush. And once baked their flavor only improves!

What you’re NOT looking for in an apple for baking is a soft-eating apple like either the yellow delicious or the red delicious. Those soft apples, while they taste great fresh, turn to mush while baking. They can ruin a tart like this so steer clear of them.

We love pie!

If you love pie try my Old Fashioned No Corn Syrup Pecan Pie, it’s a true winner! Or try the recipe for Vargables a dessert noodle pie!

A single bite of a corn syrup free pecan pie.

And my simple All-Butter Pie Crust is so easy to make, it even has videos to walk you through it.

Easy Pie Dough

And if you prefer a non-butter crust try my Easy Homemade Pie Crust recipe made with Crisco!

Easy Homemade Pie Crust

And of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t direct you towards my No Corn Syrup Pecan Pie Bars

top view of fresh cut bars

One more TINY suggestion why not try something totally different? Like this dessert noodle pie recipe called Vargabeles?

Yield: 8 servings

Elegant Apple Tart

Easy Apple Tart

This elegant but EASY Apple Tart will wow your guests.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Bake Time 1 hour
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

Tart Crust

  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 TBSP brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 9 TBSP cold butter, diced
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 3 TBSP cold water

Apple Filling

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3 TBSP white sugar
  • 2 1/2 TBSP lemon juice
  • 2 TBSP cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 TBSP butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup apple sauce
  • 1-2 large red apples
  • 1-2 large green apples

Glaze

  • 2 TBSP Honey OR Apricot Jam

Instructions

  1. put the dry ingredients in the bowl of the food processor and pulse to combine
    Food processor pie dough.
  2. add the cut-up butter to the dry ingredients in the bowl of the food processor
    Cold butter in the dry ingredients.
  3. mix the wet ingredients for the crust together
  4. pulse the processor and drizzle in the wet ingredients
  5. when the dough comes together in a ball it's done!
    Completed tart dough.
  6. press into a 7-inch tart pan trying to keep it the same thickness all the way around the pan and on the bottom
    Time to chill the tart crust.
  7. cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour
  8. when you're ready to make the tart pre-heat the oven to 350˚
    Apple Tart recipe ingredients.
  9. melt together the brown sugar through butter in the tart portion of the recipe
  10. whisking over low heat to make it smooth
  11. set aside until ready to use
  12. core the apples, cut in half, and slice into very thin slices
    Filling the apple tart.
  13. spread the apple sauce over the tart crust
    Filling the apple tart.
  14. lay the apple slices over the apple sauce standing them on end with the peel side up, you may not need ALL the apple slices, don't crowd the pan, use what you need and save the rest for snacking
    Laying the apples in the apple tart.
  15. whisk the melted ingredients together again and pour slowly over the apples and make sure to get it to the edges of the tart
    Pouring the sauce over the apples.
  16. bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes
  17. then remove to a cooling rack
  18. after 10 minutes heat the honey or apricot jam and use a pastry brush to glaze the fruit
  19. cool completely then remove the sides and it's ready to serve
    Finished Apple Tart.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 455Total Fat 21gSaturated Fat 13gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 84mgSodium 461mgCarbohydrates 65gFiber 4gSugar 37gProtein 4g

This nutrition information was calculated using a computer program, results may vary.

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laura sampson

About Laura

Laura is on a mission to teach modern family oriented women how to make old-fashioned foods new again. A wife and mom of 3 boys, Laura understands the struggles of trying to serve a home-cooked meal each night. She provides recipes and cooking hacks for busy moms to create dishes they may think take more time or skill than they have to make. Read more...

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