Tarte Aux Pommes

This delicious classic and versatile Normandy tarte aux pommes works equally well as an elegant dessert or as a stylish tea-time treat. Served warm or at room temperature, the hint of vanilla in the apple is wonderful. Use sharp apples, such as Bramleys or Cox’s for the puree and add pretty pink apples for a decorative top layer. Serve with cream or ice cream.

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Ingredients

1 quantity egg- and nut-free sweet Shortcrust pastry, chilled for 30 minutes		1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
1 1/2 lb (675 g) eating or cooking apples, peeled, quartered, cored, and chopped		1 lb cooking apples peeled, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced (1/8 in thick), or rosy eating apples, thinly sliced with the skin left on
7 oz (200 g) vanilla sugar

directions

Prep: 50 min Total: More than 60 min

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1
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C, gas 6).
2
Roll out the shortcrust pastry and line a 10 in (25 cm) loose bottomed tart tin. Place the chopped apples and 2 oz (55 g) of the vanilla sugar in a heavy-based saucepan. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod and add both the pod and the seeds to the apple and sugar mixture. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft and can be pulped when pressed with a wooden spoon, about 15 minutes. If using eating apples, add 1–2 tablespoons of water to ensure the apples break down easily. Remove the vanilla pod.
3
Beat the cooked apple well with a wooden spoon, adding a further 2 oz (55 g) of the sugar. Leave to cool. Once cool, transfer to the shortcrust pastry case.
4
Arrange the apple slices in circles overlapping each other on top of the apple sauce, starting from the outside in.
5
Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining 85g (3oz) of vanilla sugar. Return to a high shelf in the oven and bake until lightly browned and the sliced apples are tender, about 50 minutes.

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Tarte Aux Pommes

Ingredients

directions