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French apple tart with frangipane made with pate sucree, almond cream, and apples. It’s delicate, beautiful, and most importantly, delicious. The combination of apple, almond, and cinnamon creates a warm and delightful dessert for autumn.
It’s a wonderful Thanksgiving dessert, autumn dessert, or even just an apple-lover dessert with no holiday in mind. Because who really needs to wait for a holiday to make an apple tart? Read below for the recipe.
Table of Contents
- What is a French Apple Tart?
- About the Apple Design
- Precook Your Apples
- Glaze the Apples
- How to Prevent Frangipane From Curdling
- Apple Tart Baking Essentials
What is a French Apple Tart?
There are several variations of a French apple tart, but this particular recipe is very French. It consists of a pate sucree crust, frangipane filling (almond cream), and tart apples.
The one thing about this recipe that is not French is the cinnamon, which is really a very American touch. But honestly, I wouldn’t skip it for this recipe. This recipe doesn’t use Calvados or any other liqueur, so the cinnamon is a wonderful addition.
About the Apple Design
Start by layering the apples along the crust. Overlap each apple slice about halfway over the previous apple slice. Keep doing this until you reach the center.
In the very center, roll the apple slice to make the rose bud, and place in the center. If one apple is too small for the center, roll two or three apples together to make the the center.
As a note, you do not have to make the beautiful apple design if that is not something you want to take the time to do. I’m all about showing you how to make a dessert, and then you do what works best for you.
I love to show people what they can achieve, but if the rose isn’t something you want to do, dump the apples into the tart crust and bake them as they are.
Precook Your Apples
One of the most important steps in making a French apple tart or apple pie for that matter is to precook the apples beforehand.
There is nothing worse than a soggy apple tart that results from too much liquid escaping from the apples.
To prebake the apples, cook them for 5-10 minutes in a skillet. Allow the apple slices to cool some before placing them in the tart, and you will have a beautifully baked tart with soft and tender apples.
Glaze the Apples
When your tart comes out of the oven, the apples may look a little dry or dull. This is perfectly normal since the apples are vertical instead of lying flat in the filling.
To give your French apple frangipane tart that amazing finished look, use a simple glaze (listed below) of warmed apricot jam and water.
It won’t change the flavor of the dessert since it’s such a light glaze.
The glaze will, however, give the apples that permanent shine and keep the moisture locked in. I learned this technique long ago in culinary school, and it never fails to work.
How to Prevent Frangipane From Curdling
Have you ever made frangipane that looks chunky? The culprit is temperature and the order in which you combine the ingredients.
You can prevent frangipane from curdling by combining room-temperature ingredients.
If the butter is hard and cold, it doesn’t emulsify or mix with the other ingredients easily.
Another helpful tip is to mix the butter and sugar first, then add the almond flour and emulsion. Add the egg last so it is more easily absorbed into the almond flour and blends smoothly.
Apple Tart Baking Essentials
- A 9.5-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Don’t use a pan without a removable bottom; getting the tart out whole will be impossible.
- A good, sharp knife (I love the Wusthof, but any good brand will do) to cut the apples to 1/16 inch. A dull knife is much harder to cut, and more uneven cutting tends to happen.
- Optionally, use a mandolin slicer.
- A stand mixer
- A pastry brush (these are the best I have used!) to brush on the apricot glaze at the end. This is the best way to spread the glaze.
Other Recipes You’ll Love!
- S’mores Tart
- Chocolate Salted Caramel Eclairs
- French Lemon Tart
French Apple Tart with Frangipane
French apple tart with frangipane made with pate sucree, almond cream, and Honey Crisp apples. The combination of apple, almond, and cinnamon creates a warm and delightful dessert for autumn.
- Author: Camille
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Chill Time: 90 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
- Category: Tarts
Ingredients
UnitsScale
For the Pate Sucree (Sweet Shortcrust Pastry)
- 113 g unsalted butter, room temp (65 F)
- 55 g powdered sugar
- 30 g egg
- 1/4 tsp Morton’s kosher salt
- 170 g all-purpose flour
Frangipane (Almond Cream) Filling
- 70 g almond flour
- 70 g egg
- 70 g unsalted butter, room temp
- 70 g granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp almond emulsion or extract
For the Apple Filling
- 7 Honey Crisp Apples, peeled and cored (or similar apples, like Granny Smith)
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- Juice of half a lemon
- 28 g unsalted butter, melted (2 Tbs)
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
Fruit Glaze
- 85 g apricot jam
- 2–3 Tbs water
- Vanilla Ice Cream (for serving)
- Homemade Carmel (for serving)
Instructions
To Make the Pate Sucree Crust
- Cream the butter and sugar on low in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Add the egg and mix. It will look curdled, but that is okay.
- Combine dry ingredients and add to the mixer in 2 additions. Mix just until combined. Remove the dough from the mixer and shape into a flat round disk. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- If the dough chills for more than an hour, let the dough sit out for 20-30 minutes so that it is easier to work with. The dough gets really firm when it chills for a long time.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12 inche circle.
- Fold the dough gently in half and then place in the 9.5 -inch tart pan. Press the dough into the pan along the bottom and against the sides.
- Remove the excess dough along the edges with the palm of your hand or a knife. Prick the bottom with a fork in several places, and then freeze for an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line frozen tart with parchment and pie weights. Bake for 25 minutes(not fully cooked).
- Remove parchment and pie weights, then cool completely before filling.
To Make the Frangipane (Almond Cream Filling)
- Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth.
- Add the almond flour and mix. Finish by mixing in the egg and almond emulsion. The frangipane should have a very spreadable consistency. Set aside and make the apple filling.
For the Apple Filling
- Peel, core, and slice apples thinly with a mandolin or by hand to 1/16 inch thick.
- Mix the apples with the sugar, lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon and place in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat and let the juices naturally reduce for 5-10 minutes. Apple should be bendable and softer, but not mushy or fully cooked.
- Remove apples from the skillet and place in a bowl. Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes.
To Assemble the Tart
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Pour frangipane into the cooled tart shell, and smooth out the filling so it’s even.
- Next, place the apples in the tart shell with the flat end of each apple slice sticking down into the frangipane (the curved part of the apples should be up on top). Overlap the apples by 1/3 to 1/2 all the way around the tart. Continue to fill the tart until the tart is full.
- Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with a mixture of 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the edges of the tart crust are golden brown. If the apples begin to burn on the edges, lightly cover the top of the tart with a piece of foil.
- Remove tart from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool. Meanwhile, warm the apricot jam and water in a small pot until jam has melted. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the apples with jam to give them a beautiful shine.
- Allow the tart to cool for an hour or longer to be fully set. It’s best eaten warm with a scoop of ice cream.
- Store in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature. The crust will soften after a few days, so it’s best eaten within the first 2 days for the optimal texture.
Notes
This is a Baker Street Society original recipe.
Keywords: french apple tart, frangipane, pate sucree
