Tarte aux pommes (or apple tart) is a simple and delicious dessert that many people know and love.
This Alsatian version is different in that the apple slices are sitting in a layer of custard, which gives the tart a unique creaminess. The sweetness of the custard balances perfectly the light natural tartness of the apples. The tart crust and apple slices are baked first without the custard, allowing the crust to cook through and become crispy around the edges.
It can be served lukewarm or cold, especially in the summer. In Alsace we often sprinkle some icing sugar on top and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.
You can make your own pâte brisée (shortcrust pastry dough) using our recipe or buy it pre-made. Aside from the dough, the part that takes the longest is cutting and arranging the apples if you want the gorgeous spiral. If you only care about the taste, simply add the apples in an even layer and this will take no time!
RECIPE VIDEO
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Tarte aux pommes alsacienne • Alsatian-style apple tart
Course: DessertCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Easy6
servings30
minutes40
minutes1
hour10
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
300 g 300 pâte brisée (short-crust pastry dough)
1 kg 1 apples
2 2 eggs
200 ml 200 heavy cream (‘crème liquide’)
120 g 120 sugar
7.5 g 7.5 vanilla sugar (or 1 tbsp vanilla extract)
Equipment
- Tart mold
- Rolling pin
Directions
- Let pâte brisée come up to almost room temperature.
- Clean and flour your work surface, then place the dough in the center, pressing it down with your palm into a circular disk.
- Roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a large circle about 3-5mm thick.
- Gently lift up the dough and place it over the tart mold.
- Make sure the dough is sitting flat against the mold and there is no space between the dough and the mold, especially in the corners.
- Press on dough at the top edge of the mold with your fingers or the rolling pin to cut off excess dough and remove.
- Place the crust in the fridge while you prepare the apples.
- Peel, core, and cut apples into thin slices. I recommend cutting the apples in halves pole to pole, then slicing them from bottom to top.
- Place apple slices in the tart crust. You can do this however you like, but my preferred method is placing them in a ring, starting from the outside, with the pieces slightly overlapping one another. Place broken, smaller bits of apple in the middle to help support the inner rings of apple slices. I place second ring slightly overlapping the first and moving in the opposite direction. Repeat until you reach the center. Tip: save a new nicest slices to place on top in the center.
- Bake in the oven at 210°C/410°F for 25 minutes. In the meantime, make the custard preparation.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar, and heavy cream.
Set aside in the fridge. - Once the tard has baked for 25 minutes, take it out of the oven and reduce the temperature to 180°C/360°F.
- Pour the custard preparation over the tart and even roughly even it out as you hold the mold with mittens.
- Place the tart back in the oven and bake for 15 more minutes.
- After baking, let the tart cool down to room temperature.
- Optional suggestions for serving:
1 – Sprinkle icing sugar over the tart
2 – Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side
Recipe Video
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