Classic French apple tart

An apple a day keeps the doctor away... I hope it counts for the apple pastry as well, because I just love the smell of an apple pie from my oven! Oh well, I mentioned it already here.

This time I would love to share with you the recipe of a classic French apple tart, with crispy dough covered with a vanilla applesauce and topped with beautifully arranged apple slices.

So good! It will take some time to arrange apple slices on top, but it's definitely worth it! As the result you will get a gorgeous tart that is fantastic for any occasion and it looks like it came from a bakery!

Serves 6 to 8

INGREDIENTS:

For the crust:
210g all-purpose flour
25g almond flour
80g powdered sugar
pinch of salt
125g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature
1 egg
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways

For the apple compote (applesauce):
7 medium apples (Santana or Golden Delicious/ Jonagold/ Elstar)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways
60g butter
3 tbsp sugar
50ml water

For the apple topping:
3 medium apples (Santana or Golden Delicious/ Jonagold/ Elstar)

For the glaze:
40ml water
80g sugar

Special equipment:
Loose base tart tin/pan (24 cm in diameter) like this.
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DIRECTIONS:

1. On a flat surface, using the tip of a knife, scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean and put them to a bowl of your stand mixer with butter and a pinch of salt.  With a flat paddle attachment cream butter, salt and vanilla seads on medium speed until well-combined. Gradually add powdered sugar and both almond and all-purpose flour, mix well. Add the egg and mix until smooth. (If you don't have a mixer, you can use a fork, a pastry cutter or just your hands for the same result). Roll the dough into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
Place the dough in between two sheets of baking paper (you can use a little bit of flour to dust the paper to prevent the dough from sticking) and roll it out to a round, about 3mm thick. Place in a lightly buttered 24 cm diameter loose bottomed tart pan, trim the edges. Prick the dough with a fork and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. 
 

2. Meanwhile, make the filling. For the apple compote (applesauce): peel, core and roughly chop  the apples. Place them in a deep saucepan along with sugar, splitted vanilla bean, butter and water. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down and cook until tender (about 40-60 minutes). Check every 15 minutes and if necessary add more water to the mixture. Remove from the heat, discard the vanilla bean and using a handheld/immersion blender or a fork, work the apples until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. Scoop the applesauce inside the prepared tart pan. 
  
3. Preheat the oven to 200C (390F). 
For the glaze, in a small pan, combine water and sugar. Bring to the boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes to make a syrup. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Peel, core and halve the apples. Place cut-side down on a board and cut into thin slices. Arrange the slices over the compote. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the pastry and apples are golden brown. Leave the tart to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing from the pan. Brush the top with the glaze, transfer to a wire rack and let it cool completely.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of crème fraîche, but it's also good just on its own.
Enjoy,
@toetjeaddicted