Apple "Tart"

I like to show my less-than-perfect results. I knew I should have used bottomless rings for the tart. Instead, I was able to salvage the broken pieces and fit them into a pie pan. The tart didn’t suffer any for it (it was delicious) but the appearance was unimpressive.

The recipe for the apple tart comes from Mastering The Art of French Cooking by, Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck. I’m not going to re-post it here as the book offers very detailed directions over multiple pages and has helpful illustrations. The book is widely available in libraries and used bookstores. If you simply must have the recipe right away-drop me an email and I’ll try to talk you through it.

A few observations (other than the obvious one of using the correct pan for the job). Store-brand (in this case, Hy-Vee) apricot jam put through a sieve will work, but good quality jam will taste better. Likewise for the butter. I served it with a dollop of crème fraiche.

The filling of this tart is more like a thick, chunky applesauce with brandy and apricot jam to bind it. It is absolutely unlike anything I’ve ever made. My boys really liked it, though it was for my taste, far too sweet. It is not the sort of thing you’d want more than a small slice of. I also served it still slightly warm, which I think helped it considerably. Would I make it again? I suppose I would, though I really would seek out a less-sweet apricot jam for the recipe. Even with the crust mishap, it was still a lovely ending to an unusually nice dinner.