Alsatian apple tart, or Tarte aux Pommes Alsacienne, combines sweet and tart apples, smooth vanilla custard, and melt-in-your-mouth shortcrust pastry.
Alsatian Apple Tart
This tart is surprisingly well-balanced and not overly sweet. It’s great served warm with ice cream or even on its own straight from the fridge. As a bonus, the shortcrust pastry or Pâte brisée can be used in many other tart recipes.
If you’re short on time but want a dessert that uses apples, try our Apple Cinnamon Muffins.
What you need for Alsatian Apple Tart
Shortcrust Pastry Ingredients
Pâte brisée
- All-purpose flour: No substitutes are recommended here, just all-purpose or plain flour for this recipe.
- Butter: Unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature, should be used; when it’s warm enough, you should be able to stir it until smooth.
- Salt: Just regular table salt.
- Egg yolk: We used free-range ‘large’ sized eggs and then separated the yolks from the egg whites. The yolk should be at room temperature.
- Icy cold water: This keeps the butter from melting anymore, which helps keep the pastry nice and flaky.
Alsatian Apple Tart Filling
- Apples: Use a sweet apple in this recipe; we used Pink Lady apples for their sweetness and tartness.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar is used in the recipe for coating the apples and filling. Powdered sugar is optional for decorating at the end.
- Vanilla sugar: Combining both granulated sugar and vanilla. Typically the sugar is infused with whole vanilla beans.
- Cream: Use a heavy cream to make the filling thick and silky.
- Eggs: Again, we used free-range ‘large’ sized eggs but for the filling we use the whole egg.
How to make Alsatian Apple Tart
Making the Shortcrust Pastry / Pâte brisée
- Sift flour: Sift the flour onto a clean work surface.
- Make a well: Make a well in the middle of the sifted flour.
- Add egg: Along with the butter, place into the center of the flour well.
- Combine: Using fingertips, combine until the dough becomes crumbly in texture. Once crumbly, use the ice water one tablespoon at a time, along with a spatula, to bring the dough together.
- Form a disc: Once the dough comes together, form a disc.
- Cling wrap: Then wrap the disc in cling wrap and place it in the fridge.
Rolling and forming the dough
- Dust surface: Dust the work surface and remove the dough from the fridge. Remove the cling wrap and place it on the work surface.
- Flatten dough: With the dusted rolling pin, gently work until it’s large enough to overlap the baking tin.
- Lift dough: Roll the dough onto the rolling pin so it’s easier to move and won’t break.
- Place on the tin: Drape the dough over the baking tin.
- Press pastry: Carefully press the pastry into the tin using the back of a finger.
- Trim: Using the rolling pin, roll over the sides to remove the excess pastry.
- Dock: With a fork, prick all over the base of the pastry, then place the tin into the fridge for 30 minutes.
First bake with apple wedges
- Prep apple: Wash, core, and cut the apples into small wedges.
- Place apples: Place the apples in a flower arrangement, working from the outside into the middle. Add the sugar and then place it into the preheated oven.
Making the filling
- Eggs: In a mixing bowl, add the eggs, granulated, and vanilla sugar.
- Whisk: Until light and fluffy.
- Pour cream: Pour the heavy cream into the mixture.
- Whisk until smooth: The filling should look silky smooth with a consistent color.
Final assembly and bake
- Remove from the oven: Take the tart from the oven and place the tin on an oven safe surface.
- Pour filling: Fill the tart tin with the filling, trying not to overfill. Keep the level slightly below the top of the pastry. Once the filling is in, return the tart to the oven for the final bake.
- Let cool: Remove the tart from the oven and allow it to cool before removing it from the tin.
Alsatian Apple Tart
Silky smooth custard and apple with flaky shortcrust pastry
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Servings: 8 serves
Ingredients
Shortcrust Pastry / Pâte brisée:
- 8 oz all-purpose flour
- 4 oz unsalted butter cut into small cubes, room temperature
- pinch salt
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 4-6 tbsp icy cold water
First bake ingredients:
- 2 lb sweet apples (at least 4 apples)
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Tart Filling:
- 2 large eggs
- 3 oz granulated sugar
- .35 oz vanilla sugar
- 7 floz heavy cream
Instructions
Shortcrust Pastry / Pâte brisée:
- Soften the butter: In a bowl, stir the butter with a spatula breaking down any lumps, making it a smooth consistency.
- Sift flour: Using a sieve, sift the all-purpose flour onto a clean working surface.
- Add butter: Along with salt and egg yolk, and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it's crumbly in texture.
- Ice water: Just a tablespoon at a time, mix it around quickly with spatula until the dough starts to form and the texture of the mixture should be a little sticky with some dry crumbs and about to come together at this stage.
- Floured surface: Now that the dough is beginning to form, transfer the mixture to a lightly floured surface.
- Form the dough: Squeeze and knead the dough slightly, work quickly just until it comes together, do not over-knead. Form the dough into a flat round disk then wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Roll and Chill Pastry
- Prepare pan: Use a 9” (25CM) pie/quiche tin with removable base.
- Roll the dough: Take the dough out of the fridge and onto lightly floured surface, start rolling out the dough to the size of the pie tin and at around 1/8” thick.
- Placing the dough: Rub the rolling pin with small amount of flour to protect the dough from sticking. Carefully lift one end of the dough off of the surface and roll onto the rolling pin (like a roll of gift wrapping paper). Carefully unroll the dough sheet on top of the pie tin, letting the dough fall into the pie tin naturally.
- Flatten the dough: With the back of a finger, gently press the dough into all corners of the pie tin, let the dough drop naturally and avoid pulling or stretching it.
- Trim excess dough: Use the rolling pin to roll on top of the pie tin to trim off the edges.
- Docking the dough: With a fork prick the dough all over the base of the tin.
- Chill: Place the tin into the fridge and chill for another 30 minutes.
First bake with apple wedges:
- Pre-heat oven to 400F (200C).
- Prepare the apples: Wash, peel, core the apples and cut into wedges.
- Arrange the apple wedges: Take the pie tin out of the fridge and start laying the apple wedges. Start from the outside placing them around the edge, gradually working your way to the middle. Once arranged, sprinkle 2 Tbsp granulated sugar on top.
- Bake for 30 minutes, test that the apples are soft by pricking them with a knife.
Final Assembly of the Alsatian Apple Tart
- Prepare the filling: While the apples are still cooking, prepare the sugar, egg and cream mixture. Add the 3 oz (75g) sugar, 1/3 oz (10g) vanilla sugar and eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk well until light and fluffy. Once fluffy, stir in the cream, mix well until all combined.
- Remove the apple tart from the oven and DON’T TURN OFF THE OVEN.
- Pour filling: Pour the custard mixture on top of the apple through a sieve.
Bake:
- Final bake: Return the tart to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until lightly golden and set (very tiny amount of wobble in the middle is ok).
- Remove from oven: Take the apple tart out of the oven, allow to cool slightly or completely.
- Garnish: Decorate with powdered sugar.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serve | Calories: 432kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 27mg | Potassium: 198mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 888IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 2mg
