Tarte Normande
Apples baked into an almond custard in a pastry case, with Calvados. Wetter and richer than a plain apple tart and considerably easier.
Photograph credit: Tarte normande by zigazou76 · CC BY 2.0 · Flickr
The custard is poured over raw apples and they cook in it, which means they have to be cut thick — 1 cm wedges, not slices — or they disintegrate and turn the filling to mush. Ground almonds in the custard absorb the liquid the apples release, which is what stops the tart weeping. It is baked hotter than a plain custard tart because the almond protects it from curdling.
Quick Answers
How long does Tarte Normande take to make?
30 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 5 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour 30 minutes of chilling the pastry, so allow 3 hours 5 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 8.
Tarte Normande: Step by Step
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Make the pastry and chill it 60 minutes, then line a 24 cm tin and blind bake at 180°C / 355°F for 20 minutes.
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Arrange the apple wedges over the base in a single tight layer.
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Whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale, then beat in the ground almonds.
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Add the cream, Calvados, vanilla and salt and whisk to a smooth batter.
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Pour it over the apples — it should come just to the top of them.
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Scatter with the flaked almonds and the extra sugar.
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Bake at 190°C / 375°F for 45 minutes, until puffed, deep gold and set with only the faintest wobble. Cool at least 30 minutes before cutting.
Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Pan and tin size.
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A Few Pointers
- Thick apple wedges. Thin slices dissolve into the custard.
- Ground almonds absorb the apple juice — do not reduce them.
- Cool before cutting or it runs.
Pairs Well With
Crème fraîche · Calvados · Coffee
Keeping and Reheating
Refrigerated for 3 days and good cold. It freezes for 2 months.
Tarte Normande Nutrition
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.
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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 .