Nick Malgieri's French Apple Tart/Cake/Pie

This is my new favorite apple dessert.

I bookmarked it last year from David Lebovitz's site and knew this would be my Thanksgiving dessert.

And it will be.

Since I am not a real baker, I had to get in the mood for this project.

On a difficulty level, I would say it is intermediate, not terribly hard to make, but it's a waiting game, you need patience, of which I have none of.

You have to peel, core and slice the apples, (I am so lazy, I usually leave the peels on), then cook the filling, then cool in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours.

Same goes for the dough.

You have to drag out your food processor, make the dough, and wrap the ball in plastic wrap in the fridge for a few hours.
So, if you are planning to make this tomorrow, get the filling and dough ready the day before (I should have thought of that!).

This is Nick Malgieri's recipe, and he is one of the best bakers around. All of his recipes come out great, but I had a question.

Should I use a springform pan or cake tin? The photo on David's site shows the bottom of a removable cake tin.
Hmmmm.

I messaged Nick on Facebook w/ the question, and he answered within 2 minutes!
"Use a solid 8" cake tin".

Question answered.

I followed the recipe exactly, but for some reason, my dough kept sticking to the rolling pin, so I rolled it out in between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and it was perfect.

This is more of a shortbread cookie crust, not really a pie crust, not really a cake, so what to call it?

They call it a French Apple Pie, but there is no such thing in France, so just call it an apple tart and call it FABULOUS.

Also a note: the recipe called for heating up the icing sugar w/ a tbsp of water and spreading it quickly over the cake.
Make sure you spread it QUICKLY, it dries on contact.

If I ever make this cake again (which I will on a another rainy cold stuck inside day), I will decorate it with flowers before the icing dries.

Nick recommends using Golden Delicious apples, because they have a lower moisture content, but use whatever apples you like to bake with, I used Gala apples fresh picked from a local orchard.

French Apple Pie/Cake/Tart: (Nick Malgieri's recipe from his book Pastry, adapted from David Lebovitz)

Cooked Apple Filling:

2 1/2 pounds (1,2kg) Golden Delicious apples (about 5 large apples)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (140g) dark raisins or currants
1 tablespoon dark rum or vanilla

Pastry Dough:

2 cups (280g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (65g) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (115g) unsalted butter, cold
2 large eggs

Icing:
1 cup (140g) confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons water

Butter an 8" round cake pan (I use a professional Nordicware aluminum pan, don't use a non-stick flimsy pan).
Line the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit.

For the apple filling: peel, halve, core, and cut the apples into thin wedges. Melt the butter in a wide saucepan with a lid, and add all the remaining ingredients but the rum. Stir well and place on medium heat. Cook until the apples start to sizzle, then cover the pan and decrease the heat. Cook until the apples have exuded water, about 10 minutes. Uncover the pan and stir occasionally while the liquid evaporates.

Remove from heat, add the rum, and spread the filling in a shallow bowl.
Refrigerate the apple filling, at least 2 hours.

For the dough, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to mix.
Cut the butter into 10 pieces and add. Pulse until the butter is no longer in visible pieces.

Add the eggs and pulse until the dough starts to form a ball.
Invert to a floured work surface and carefully remove the blade. Wrap and chill the dough.

When you are ready to assemble the pie, set a rack in the lowest level of the oven and preheat to 350F degrees.

Lightly knead the chilled dough to soften it. Roll a little more than half the dough on a floured surface and line the pan. Cut away excess dough at the rim of the pan. Spread the chilled apple filling in the crust.

Roll the remaining dough (I had to roll it in between 2 sheets of plastic wrap) and cut an 8-inch disc.
Lay it on top of the filling and fold the dough on the side of the pan over it to seal. Use a fork to press down the folded dough and to pierce some holes throughout.

Bake until the dough is baked through and dark golden, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on a rack (about 30 minutes so the juices set).

Invert the pie to a platter keeping the bottom of the pie as the top.

Combine the confectioners’ sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir well. Heat to lukewarm and quickly spread on the pie.

Let the icing set before serving.

Enjoy!