This is a traditional French dessert that will wow your guests. It’s not at all difficult and the end result will make everyone think you went to a French Pastry School. I especially love this served with a drizzle of caramel sauce and a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. I like to make this the morning of the day it will be served but it can be made a day in advance and stored covered with a glass cake cover once it has cooled completely.
Makes One 11” Tart
½ Recipe Pate Sucre (Sweet Pastry Crust) Tolled out and Fitted into an 11” Tart Pan With a Removable Bottom or a 10″ Ceramic Tart Dish.
For the Frangipane
1½ Cup Blanched Sliced Almonds
¼. Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon Dark Rum (If you choose not to use rum add 1 more tablespoon vanilla)
1 Large Egg
For the Apple Filling
2 Pounds Granny Smith Apples (About Six)
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Cut into Small Pieces
1/3 Cup Apricot Preserves, Pureed
Preheat oven to 400°F with the rack in the middle of the oven.
For the Frangipane
Combine almonds and ¼ cup sugar in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and grind almonds into a powder. Add the butter and pulse to combine. Add vanilla, rum and egg and process thoroughly. Set aside.
For the Filling
Peel, cut in half, core and cut the apples into 1/4 inch slices. Set aside the large center slices of the apples and coarsely chop the end pieces. You should have about 2 cups of chopped apples.
Spread the frangipane in the tart shell and sprinkle the chopped apples evenly over the frangipane. Arrange the slices in concentric circles over the chopped apple-frangipane filling, starting at the outside edge and ending in the middle.
Sprinkle the apple slices with 1 tablespoon sugar and dot with 2 tablespoons butter.
Place the tart pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment (to prevent any dripping onto oven floor) and bake for 1 to 1¼ hours rotating the tart pan half way through the cooking time. Remove from oven and gently brush apricot glaze on the apples.
Warm the apricot puree just before removing the tart from the oven. You want this to be warm when you glaze the tart.
