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5 from 3 reviews

French Apple Tart Recipe

Eileen Gray
Crisp sweet-crust filled with roasted apple compote and topped with a beautiful flower of sliced apples. A classic and elegant tart fit for any dessert table.
Prep Time1 hour
Bake Time45 minutes
Blind Bake Time15 minutes
Total Time2 hours
Servings:12 servings

Ingredients

Apple Compote

  • 2 pounds apples (about 4)
  • 6 ounces granulated sugar (¾ cup)
  • 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¾ ounce Panko bread crumbs (¼ cup)
  • ½ ounce lemon juice (1 tablespoon)
  • ¼ teaspoon table salt

Assembly

  • 18 ounces apples (about 3)
  • ½ ounce lemon juice (1 tablespoon)
  • 1 ounce unsalted butter (melted)
  • ½ ounce granulated sugar (1 tablespoon)

Instructions

  • Roll the dough to fit a 12" fluted tart pan. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork and refrigerate until firm.
  • While the tart shell chills, preheat the oven to 350 °F. Bake the tart shell until it's light brown around the edges and pale in the center, about 7-8 minutes. Set the crust aside to cool while you make the compote filling. Keep the oven on.
  • Generously butter a half sheet pan. To make the compote, peel and core the apples. Cut the apples into 8ths. In a mixing bowl toss the apple slices with the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, bread crumbs and lemon juice.
  • Dump the apples onto the prepared baking sheet and spread them into an even layer. Bake until the apples are soft enough to mash with a fork, about 20 minutes. Halfway through baking toss the apples to help them bake evenly. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the apples back to the bowl. Mash them until you have a chunky compote. Taste the compote and add sugar or lemon juice as needed.

Assembly

  • Spread the compote into the tart shell. Peel and core the apples. Cut each apple in half, then slice into ¼" thick slices. Toss the apple slices with the lemon juice as you cut them to keep them from browning. Arrange the apples slices in a pretty petal pattern, starting with the outside edge and working your way towards the middle.
  • Brush the apple slices with the melted butter then sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake until the apples slices are soft and starting to brown on the edges, about 25 minutes.
  • Turn on the broiler and run the tart under the broiler for a minute or two to deeply brown the edges of the apple slices.
  • Transfer the tart to cooling rack and cool until lukewarm before removing the sides of the pan. Serve slightly warm or room temperature.

Video

Notes

The tart is best the day it's baked, but it can be kept at room temperature for several days.
To work ahead you can make and pre-bake the tart shell. Make the apple filling and refrigerate, then assemble and bake the tart the day it will be served.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 53mg | Potassium: 138mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 121IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg