A Double Apple French Tart
Saturday September 26, 2020

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Autumn and apples.

The two just go together in my mind, and my tastebuds agree. Snuggling in as the rain falls and the temperatures drop. I look forward to this time of year when apples are aplenty and the evenings lose their light sooner making warmth all the more sought out whether by sitting by a fire or nibbling on something warm and subtly cinnamon-spicy.

Today’s recipe is one I stumbled upon making last fall while visiting my parents after an emotionally rough season for our family due to loss and health struggles. Looking for comfort, I looked to none other than Julia Child and found my favorite way to make a French apple tart – double the apples!

The filling for the recipe is akin to apple sauce, and the topping makes it look especially special. The double apple approach may take a touch more time, but it is absolutely worth it.

Choosing to use my personal pastry recipe, and Julia Child and Dorie Greenspan’s filling, I am confident you as well will find this classic recipe a bit more special and full of comfort and dependable flavor for savoring this fall.

Pair with a hot cuppa or hot cup of coffee, enjoy a slice entirely on its own or with a dollop of heavy whipped cream or a scoop of your favorite ice cream or gelato, and this dessert offers warmth and cozy deliciousness.

Pair with a hot cuppa and savor a favorite classic autumn dessert.

I do hope you enjoy this episode. View the full episode below!

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~Tour my full kitchen and learn all of the details and my approach to this new space as well as how I decided on a La Cornue stove to be my lifetime stove. I am so tickled with how it was customized and transformed this summer (2020). (be sure to become a TOP Tier subscriber to be able to view the tour post.)

An Everyday Luxury

Links from the Episode:

Just Made Available! Digital Cookbooks for Each Season of the Show! If you are looking for all of the recipes for each previous season in one easy to find place without having to click through each episode for each season, I now have available a Digital Cookbook for Seasons 1 & 2 ($8). Shop here.(Note: All TOP Tier ad-free subscribers can download these cookbooks for free, and grandfathered/mothered ad-free subscribers, you too will be able to access them for free – we have had to tend to a small glitch, but it will be worked out soon. My apologies for the delay.)


~Cook & Share! I would love to share your Simply Luxurious Kitchen inspired experiences from your kitchen! Tag me on Instagram with @thesimplyluxuriouslife #tslkitchen and your post could appear on my Instagram feed. Many readers have already shared their meals inspired by recipes from TSLKitchen. Check out TSLL’s IG Story Highlights – titled, Viewers’ Recipes. And see the most recent shares since Season 1 wrapped up as viewers began to explore the recipes in their own kitchens. Over the past year, the croissant recipe (Season 2, Episode #6) was the most popular. Have a look below at a handful of pics shared by readers/viewers on IG, and be sure to share your next experience in the kitchen exploring one of TSLK recipes.

Double Apple French Tart

Simply LuxuriousSimply Luxurious
With Shannon's classic pastry and Dorie Greenspan's filling inspired by Julia Child's beloved Baking with Julia television series, this tart is a luxurious fall dessert that is really quite simple to make.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

Shannon's Pastry

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter top quality, my favorite is Isigny Sainte-Mère
  • 1-2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp fleur de sel
  • 4-5 Tbsp cold water

Double Apple Filling

  • 5 apples peeled, cored and roughly cubed
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup panko or fresh breadcrumbs
  • 2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Double Apple Topping

  • 3 apples peeled, cored, quartered and thinly sliced
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled (rough chopped) melted
  • 1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar

Instructions
 

The Pastry

  • To make the pastry, combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter (chilled) in a food processor and pulse until mixed and fine crumbs appear.
  • Add the water gradually (how much you use will depend upon the humidity of your locale). Listen for the dough to begin to come together. Once it begins this process, stop pulsing – you are set. Place into a ball and press into a slight disc shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

The Apple Filling (applesauce-esque)

  • Preheat the oven to 375 Fahrenheit.
  • Prepare the five apples (peel, core, and roughly cube).
  • Line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper. Place the cubed apple pieces in one layer onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle the sugar, flour, cinnamon and bread crumbs over the apples. Mix with your hands until evenly distributed over the apples. Arrange the apples again so they lay flat on the baking sheet.
  • Place into the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the apples are soft and capable of being mashed.
  • Place the cooked apples into a mixing bowl and mash with a fork or masher. They do not need to be mashed into a smooth applesauce, but rather a rough mash so that some of the apples are visible and an observer would know it is a homemade applesauce.
  • Let the applesauce cool. Set aside while you roll out the pastry and blind bake.

Baking the Pastry

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Roll out the dough and place in a tart pan(s) of your choice. Trim the edges, place parchment paper to cover the dough and place pie weights or beans (or rice) to hold the parchment paper in place while blind baking. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is lightly brown.
  • Let cool.
  • Reduce the heat of the oven to 375.

The Apple Topping

  • Peel, core and slice about 1/4" thick. As you are slicing the apples, place the slices into a small bowl with lemon juice so as not to brown while they wait to be placed on top of the filling.
  • Take the blind baked pastry shell, fill with the applesauce filling.
  • Begin arranging the apple slices on top of the filling beginning on the outer edge and overlap as much or as little as you want keeping in mind that the apple slices will shrink. Continue moving around the tart until you reach the center. For the center, use four or five slices and place on end to create a flourish in the middle (upon baking they will fall flat, but the effect will be a blossom in the middle).
  • Melt the butter on the stove. Using a small brush, brush the apple topping with the melted butter and sprinkle with demerara sugar (or Mae's crumble).
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edge of the apples are quite dark and the rest of the tart is lightly brown. If the crust edges are becoming too dark before the apples become brown, use tin foil to cover and continue to bake until desired color of the apples is reached.
  • Let cool for about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the tart pan and serve with a hot cuppa, heavy whipped cream or dulce de leche gelato (Bonata is my favorite).

~View more TSLL Recipes


View previous episodes from Season 3 of the Show

Season Premiere – Sorrel Chicken



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13 thoughts on “A Double Apple French Tart

  1. Very tempting Shannon. My basic apple tart is just that, basic. I really like seeing how you made the “applesauce” layer. Thank you, your blouse is lovely too!

    1. Thank you Cheryll. 🙂 Yes, the applesauce layer is quite simple and really adds extra “apple” to a favorite dessert. Chinti & Parker’s blouse just captured my attention last season and I feel fortunate to be able to have it in my capsule. Have a lovely weekend and thank you for stopping by.

  2. Oh Shannon, I am enjoying your cooking show so much! I had a lot of prep work to do this evening to make a paella and so I popped your cooking show on to keep me company. It felt like I was cooking alongside a friend! I’ve never enjoyed chopping ingredients so much, I’m not kidding. Merci again for all that you do and create. May you have a wonderful week ahead! ~Deborah.

    1. Deborah, thank you for sharing!!! 🙂 Happy to be some company in the kitchen. Paella! That sounds delicious. 🙂 Have a delicious evening and wonderful start to the week. Thank you for tuning in!

  3. So now I think I need to cook Sorrel chicken followed by this delicious dessert! I made the rustic apple tart from season one last night and I think this tart would be a perfect dinner party dessert!
    Love seeing Nigel Slater’s book as the everyday luxury. He’s my favourite “tv chef” and cookbook author. His writing style is so warm and his recipes so cosy!
    Happy cooking Shannon!

  4. Beautiful tart! I am so excited about the cookbooks as I have been cooking quite a bit more recently! As I work through the recipes, I will be sure to tag you.

  5. Hi, Shannon! I’ve made plenty of French apple tarts, but never with the applesauce layer. It kind of reminds me of the filling that goes into French apple turnovers or what the French call Chaussons aux Pommes. I can’t wait to try your recipe! By the way, just a suggestion, try a plastic bowl scraper (Sur La Table and King Arthur have them) to use in place of your metal spatula. Trust me, it will come in handy so many times, especially since you love making tarts. You can also use it with pastries that require scraping dough off of a surface or dividing dough into portions. It’s one of my favorite baking tools and is also a favorite tool of my pastry chef friends. Who knows, you may even own one already! ~Millie

  6. Oh Shannon! Love your kitchen, and the tart looks so delish. I haven’t watched the other two episodes yet, but this season format is great. Just like talking to a friend in her lovely kitchen! Thank you ?

  7. The tart looks fabulous. I am excited to make one very soon because the holidays are coming upon us quickly and this will look beautiful on any table and taste delicious too! Where did you find your stainless bowls?

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