Delicious Baked Apple Tart Recipe

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Loaded with fresh apples and baked to a perfect golden brown, this beautiful apple tart is the pastry of the summer! A combination of buttery, nutty, and tart, it tastes as good as it looks!

Nothing beats pies and tarts made at home. The flavor of a crumbly crust and fresh fruit is irresistible! My strawberry tart, lemon tart, and strawberry rhubarb pie are more beautiful and delicious pastries full of summer fruits!

Delicious French Apple Tart Recipe

This incredible tart is going to steal the show with its perfect, buttery homemade crust and apple-filled center. Brushed with apricot preserves and sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg, each bite of this amazing pastry is bursting with sweet, tart, and nutty flavor. While this looks similar to an apple pie, the apple filling and crust taste a lot different. This apple tart recipe uses a technique called ‘macerating’ to soften fruit instead of making a thick apple filling with cornstarch, butter, and sugar. To macerate your apples, you soak them in a sugar mixture until they soften. This way, they become malleable enough to arrange in your crust. Because there is no filling, the end texture of this tart is more firm and crisp than an apple pie.

I, personally, like the way this tart tastes more than an apple pie. It’s beautiful, too! You are able to get neat, crisp slices without globs of apple filling spilling out. This apple tart is light and delicious when eaten on its own, but is also amazing a la mode with a scoop of homemade ice cream on top. Fresh whipped cream or crème fraîche taste great as toppings as well. I know you are going to love this tart as much as I do! It just takes a little prep and arranging of apple slices to create a tasty, lavish dessert. Honestly, putting this tart together is one of my favorite parts of this whole process. It’s so fun to see something beautiful come together!

Apple Tart Ingredients

This delicious recipe utilizes a lot of pantry staples to make your life a little easier! I know you are going to love the way these simple ingredients come together to create something that looks (and tastes!) like it came straight out of a French bakery! Measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card below.

Crust

• Flour: I use all-purpose flour in this recipe. Because of its low protein content, I have found that it keeps the crust from becoming too dense.
• Granulated Sugar: This is going to add sweetness to your crust and help ingredients meld together.
• Salt: I add salt to the crust to enhance the overall flavor.
• Butter: I use unsalted butter, cold.
• Egg Yolk: Adding an egg yolk to your dough will make it easier to shape and help give it a perfect crumbly texture when baked.
• Cold Water: I add cold water as needed, one tablespoon at a time, until my dough has reached the right consistency.

Filling

• Apples: You can use any kind of apple you want here. I use granny smith apples in this recipe for their tart flavor.
• Granulated Sugar: This will add sweetness and allow your apple slices to macerate.
• Cinnamon: Adds a subtle spice to the overall flavor of the tart.
• Nutmeg: Woody, warm, and nutty, nutmeg adds amazing aromatic flavor to this tart. It pairs wonderfully with cinnamon.
• Vanilla Extract: Added to enhance flavors. I like to use pure vanilla extract for best results.
• Lemon Juice: For a hint of tart flavor and helps to keep apples from browning.
• Salt: Add a dash to enhance flavors.
• Apricot Preserves: Brushing apricot preserves across the top of your tart will give it that bakery-worthy sheen. If you don’t want to use apricot, any jelly will do!

How to Make a French Apple Tart

While the steps of making an apple tart are fairly simple, making pastries truly is an art! Don’t skip out on taking a little extra time to create an eye-catching design. If you are a little intimidated, check out my tips below on slicing your apples paper-thin and creating the perfect crust! I know you will love this recipe and be able to create something both tasty and beautiful.

Crust

1. Cut Butter Into Dry Ingredients: To begin, in a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt together. Using a fork or a pastry blender, cut the cold butter into the flour mixture and continue to cut it in until it begins to resemble breadcrumbs.
2. Mix in Egg Yolk: Add in the egg yolk and mix together as best you can with a fork before adding 2 tbsp of the chilled water. Knead the dough together gently, adding more water if necessary to bring the dough together in a ball.
3. Chill: Next, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Roll Out Dough: Once chilled, roll the dough out into a ¼ inch thick circle. If the dough is cracking as you roll, give it a few minutes to warm up slightly before trying again. To transfer it to the tart pan, roll the pastry up on your rolling pin and unroll it over the tart pan.
5. Press Dough Into Pan: Press the bottom and sides of the pan. Trim the excess dough by rolling the rolling pin over the top of the tart pan. Prick the bottom of the pan a few times with a fork and place in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

Filling

1. Preheat Oven: First, preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Macerate Apple Slices: In a medium bowl toss the sliced apples, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and lemon juice together. Allow to macerate for 10-15 minutes.
3. Create Apple Design: Stir again before laying the apples in the tart shell in your desired design. If you want to make them a rose, overlap the apples in a circular pattern spiraling inward. Because the apples spent time macerating, they will be soft and able to bend with the curve of the pan. The thinner the slices, the easier they will be to bend.
4. Bake: Next, bake for about 50-55 minutes, until the apples are tender and the crust is nice and golden brown.
5. Brush Apples With Apricot Preserves: Once cooled, mix a little water with some apricot preserves and brush them over the apples to get a nice sheen.