Croustade aux Pommes (Apple Pastry Tart)

Pastry

• 250 g Plain flour
• 30 g Caster sugar
• 1 pinch Fine sea salt
• 150 g Unsalted butter, cold
• 1 Egg

Apple compote and topping

• 6 medium Apple, firm, tart-sweet
• 1 Lemon
• 50 g Caster sugar
• 1 ½ tsp Ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

1. Make the pastry: put the flour, 30 g caster sugar and salt in a bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until it looks like fine crumbs. Beat in the egg until the dough just comes together, then press into a disc.
2. Chill the pastry disc for 30 minutes so it is easy to roll and bakes up crisp. Meanwhile, lightly grease a 23 cm tart tin.
3. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Peel, core and slice the apples; keep 2 apples aside for the compote and slice the remaining apples thinly for the topping. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the sliced apples to prevent browning.
4. Make the compote: cut the 2 reserved apples into chunks and put them in a saucepan with 30 g of the caster sugar, the vanilla extract and 2 tbsp lemon juice. Cook over a medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring, until the apples collapse into a thick purée. Cool for 5 minutes so it spreads easily.
5. Roll the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface to a round about 3 mm thick. Line the tart tin, pressing into the corners, then trim the edge. Prick the base all over with a fork.
6. Spread the warm compote in a thin, even layer over the pastry base. Toss the sliced apples with the remaining 20 g caster sugar and the cinnamon, then arrange them neatly over the compote in overlapping circles.
7. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the pastry is deep golden and the apples are tender when pierced with a knife. If the apples colour too quickly, lower the oven to 180°C (355°F) for the final 10 minutes. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes before slicing.

Made this recipe? Rate it — a comment is optional.