Tarte aux Pommes
Apple slices fanned over an apple purée in a thin pastry case, glazed with apricot. The purée underneath is what most versions leave out.
Photograph credit: Tarte aux pommes by Nutrition, Food Safety & Health · CC0 1.0 · Flickr
Two kinds of apple do two jobs. A cooking apple collapses into the compote that lines the base and keeps everything moist; a firm eating apple holds its shape in the fanned slices on top. Using one variety for both gives you either a dry tart or a soupy one. The apricot glaze is not decoration either — it seals the cut surfaces and stops them browning within the hour.
Questions About Tarte aux Pommes
How long does Tarte aux Pommes take to make?
35 minutes of preparation and 1 hour of cooking, plus 1 hour of chilling the pastry, so allow 2 hours 35 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 8.
How to Make Tarte aux Pommes
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Make the pastry as for the lemon tart, chill 60 minutes, line a 26 cm tin and blind bake at 180°C / 355°F for 25 minutes until pale gold.
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While the case bakes, cook the chopped cooking apples with the sugar, butter and vanilla over medium heat for 15 minutes, until completely collapsed. Beat smooth and stir in the Calvados. Cool.
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Spread the compote over the base of the tart case in an even layer about 1.5 cm deep.
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Peel, halve and core the eating apples and slice them as thinly as you can.
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Fan the slices over the compote in overlapping concentric circles, working from the outside in and packing them tightly — they shrink.
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Brush with the melted butter, scatter with the sugar, and bake at 190°C / 375°F for 35 minutes, until the edges of the slices have caught and browned.
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Warm the jam with the water, sieve it, and brush it over the hot tart. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Pan and tin size.
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Worth Getting Right
- Two apple varieties: one to collapse, one to hold.
- Pack the slices tightly — they shrink considerably.
- Glaze while hot so it soaks in rather than sitting on top.
What to Serve With It
Crème fraîche · Calvados · Vanilla ice cream
Keeping and Reheating
Two days at room temperature. Refresh at 180°C / 356°F for 8 minutes. It does not freeze.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .