French · Desserts

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.

1 hr 35 min prep and cooking plus 1 hr 30 min chilling the pastry 3 hr 5 min start to finish Serves 8 servings Medium
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Tarte Normande

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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  1. 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.

  2. Arrange the apple wedges over the base in a single tight layer.

  3. Whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale, then beat in the ground almonds.

  4. Add the cream, Calvados, vanilla and salt and whisk to a smooth batter.

  5. Pour it over the apples — it should come just to the top of them.

  6. Scatter with the flaked almonds and the extra sugar.

  7. 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.

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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.

559Calories
9gProtein
61gCarbs
31gFat
5gFibre
32gSugar
100mgSodium

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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 .