Alsatian Apple Tart

This is much easier to make than it looks.

This is a gorgeous recipe from one of my favorite little NYC bakeries, Once Upon a Tart. Their cookbook is so beautifully written with great step by step instructions. It's one of my favorite cookbooks to look thru and get inspired (do I need inspiration to make a tart? I don't think so).



You can make one large tart, or 4 small ones, like I did.

This is very close to a traditional apple tart from Alsace, but made with New York State apples!



Alsatian Apple Tart (adapted from the cookbook Once Upon a Tart):

1 sheet frozen, defrosted puff pastry, rolled out and cut into rounds to fit your tart pans or single 8" pan. Keep pastry cool until ready to fill.

For the custard:

2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup of light cream
1/2 cup of whole milk
1/3 cup of sugar

Whisk all these ingredients together and transfer to a measuring cup for easier pouring later.

2 baking apples (for 4 little tarts), Rome or Granny Smith (I used what I had, Gala)
1/4 cup of warmed apricot preserves (for the glaze)

Peel and core the apples. Slice in half, then slice into thin slices going across.

Arrange half an apple in each prepared pastry fitted tart pan, partially fanning the apple open.



You will have 4 halves to fill 4 small tart pans.
If you are using one 8" tart pan, then arrange the apples in a fan pattern, overlapping slices (you may need one more apple for a larger tart).

To make life easier, place the tart pans with the apples on a rimmed baking sheet and put in the oven with the rack pulled out. Keep the door open to pour the custard over the tarts. This way you don't have to walk over to the oven holding the baking sheet and spill the liquid, since the custard comes up to the top of the pastry. (Good idea!).



Carefully pour the custard over the apples and around them to the top of the pastry.
You will most likely have extra custard.

Bake at 375F for about 45 minutes until tarts look golden.



I had one tart that leaked a little custard onto the baking sheet, not sure how to remedy that problem, but no big deal (except the egg custard sticks!).

When done, remove from the oven.

While still warm, brush with apricot jam (homemade by my friend Martha) that has been heated in the microwave.



After the tarts have cooled a few minutes, carefully run a knife around the tart pans to remove. They can be tricky to remove, because if some custard gets around the pastry, then they tend to stick to the pan.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

I LOVED these, and they are pretty too.



C'est magnifique!, if I do say so myself.