🇫🇷 France · Dessert
Classic Apple Tart
Buttery pastry, fine apple slices and warm vanilla baked until glossy.
Behind the plate
A classic apple tart makes a virtue of precision. Thin, overlapping slices cook evenly and create the familiar pattern, while a simple pastry base gives just enough contrast to the tender fruit.
There is nowhere for poor apples to hide, so choose fruit with both sweetness and acidity. A warm apricot glaze is the final pastry-shop touch: it adds shine, protects the apples and brings the whole tart into focus.
Why this recipe works
Chilling the pastry before baking limits shrinkage. A thin layer of almond meal absorbs apple juices, keeping the base crisp without changing the clean fruit flavour.
The recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g plain flour
- 125 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 50 g icing sugar
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1–2 tbsp cold water, if needed
- 4 crisp dessert apples
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 25 g caster sugar
- 20 g ground almonds
- 20 g butter, melted
- 3 tbsp apricot jam
Method
- Rub the flour, cold butter, icing sugar and salt together until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg and bring the dough together, using a little cold water only if needed.
- Flatten the pastry into a disc, wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 180°C fan / 200°C conventional.
- Roll the pastry to about 3 mm thick and line a 23 cm tart tin. Trim the edge, prick the base and chill for another 10 minutes.
- Line with baking paper and baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the paper and beans, then bake for 5 minutes more until the base looks dry.
- Peel, quarter and core the apples, then cut them into thin, even slices. Toss gently with lemon juice and vanilla.
- Scatter the ground almonds over the pastry. Arrange the apple slices in overlapping circles, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with caster sugar.
- Bake for 25–30 minutes until the apples are tender at the tips and the pastry is golden. Warm the apricot jam with 1 teaspoon water and brush it over the hot tart.
- Cool for at least 20 minutes before removing the tin. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Chef’s notes
- Keep the pastry cool at every stage. If it becomes soft, return it to the fridge before continuing.
- Slice the apples to an even thickness so they soften at the same rate.
- Glaze while the tart is still warm; the jam spreads more thinly and gives a cleaner shine.
At the table
Serve a slim wedge with lightly whipped vanilla cream, crème fraîche or a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.