This Beautiful Apple Tartlet recipe is actually a French version that looks so fancy but really is very easy to put together. This stunning-looking recipe is courtesy of Ina Garten. When I saw her make it, I knew I had to challenge myself to try it. There are two steps to this dessert. The first is to make the pastry dough and then work on the topping.
A lot of people are intimidated by making pastry dough but it’s pretty simple if you have a food processor. You don’t need an expensive, fancy food processor in your kitchen. Just find one that is big enough to deliver the recipe bulk you need to feed your family. I currently use a pretty big food processor at 14 cups so it has the capacity to make double recipes which are often needed to feed my crew.
Here is the one I have. My children gave it to me for my birthday and I just love it. It is amazing at chopping, shredding, serrating veggies and of course making pastry dough!
Check it out! Here is link to it https://amzn.to/46i0Vlb. If you decide to purchase one through my link you would also help support my blog which I deeply appreciate.
Since many of you have a favorite go-to recipe for pastry dough, I am not going to go into it in this blog. If you don’t, and you’re planning to make this dessert, then you can find the Classic Pastry Dough recipe here.
Apple Tartlet Recipe Ingredients
- Granny Smith apples
- Granulated sugar
- Cold unsalted butter diced
- Apricot jelly
- Calvados rum (apple flavored rum)
Let’s Get Started!
As mentioned earlier, you will need to make one batch of this Classic Pasty Dough recipe. You can make the pastry dough ahead of time and then start making the pastry if that works better for you. Once you have made it and you are letting the dough rest, you can use this time to get the other ingredients ready for the Apple Tart Pastry.
With the oven heating to 400 degrees, grab a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Pull pastry from the refrigerator and roll out a rectangle that is a bit bigger than 10 x14 inches. Using the pie topping method, roll the rectangle dough over your rolling pin to lift it to the sheet pan. Pop into the refrigerator while you start on the apples.
Peel, core, and cut into half the apples. Start to slice the apple halves into 1/4 slices until all apples have been cut into small slices. Note: keep lemon water in a bowl handy to place the apples in to ensure they don’t start to brown from the air while you’re in the process of cutting.
Pull the pastry rectangle from the refrigerator. To make the tart look interesting, start on a diagonal and start to layer the slices from side to side. Fill in all of the space in the same fashion until the dough is covered with apple slices.
Take the 1/2 cup of sugar and sprinkle over the top of all of the apple slices. Try not to get sugar on the sheet pan because it will burn during the baking process.
Take the cold butter and dice into small cubes by cutting the stick into half lengthwise and again lengthwise. Then cut across the short end producing 4 cubes with each slice. Sprinkle these cubes over the top of the apple/pastry evenly.
Now your Apple Tartlet is oven-ready. Bake in the 400-degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour depending on your oven. Rotate once halfway through the cooking time. The pastry edges and apples should be a beautiful brown.
While the pastry is baking, combine the apricot jelly, rum/water in a pan on top of the stove to break down the jelly and allow the ingredients to become a yummy glaze.
Once the pastry has been baked, take the apricot mixture and use a pastry brush to brush the mixture across the top of the pastry until gone. Should the pastry starts to puff up in the baking process, just take a sharp knife and cut a little slit to let air escape. The apples release water during the baking process. Do not worry if the run-off juice turns black on the sheet pan, your pastry will be fine.
Tips And Tricks:
- You can use any rum you have on hand, or even water to thin the glaze.
- Be mindful of the sugar that you sprinkle over the Apple Tartlet. As it caramelizes it will brown on the edges. YUMMY!
- Serve the pastry at room temperature!
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