French Apple Tart, a rainy day dessert...or is it?

It's a rainy day in Portland.

To escape the wet cold I jumped into one of my favorite coffee shops in downtown, Cafe Cello on SW Yamhill. Inside, I find myself drinking my usual drink, a decaf white chocolate mocha, listening to classical music, and wishing it was summer.

OK, I may be a little premature in dreaming of summer, but I wish it were a least a bit warmer. After all, I am on Spring Break. Is it too much to ask for a little sunshine while I have a whole week off of school for the purpose of sunbathing and enjoying "spring"? I guess I shouldn't be complaining since I spent the first half of my spring break in Yakima (the "Palm Springs of Washington") where is it sunny 300 days a year. As expected, we did have beautiful weather in Yakima, and on top of that I ate a lot of great food (that blog post is coming soon!).

Ironically, when I was in sunny Yakima, where it was about 70 degrees, my friend Lydia and I baked a dessert that would be perfect on a rainy Portland day like this. After searching through four Barefoot Contessa cookbooks (she is my favorite!) I decided on this French Apple Tart.

It seems the best baking usually occurs late at night, and this french apple tart was no exception. We started it at about 8pm and didn't finish it until a few members of Lydia's family had already retired to bed. We choose to make the pastry dough from scratch, which required an hour of refrigeration. But to save time--and maybe get it done at, say, 10pm--we could have purchased prepared pastry dough at any grocery store.

Granny Smith apples are the best for baking, however we used apples that we had on hand, Fuji apples. Even though Fuji is never "recommended" for baking, this tart still turned out delicious! Other apples that are recommended for baking are: Cameo, Cortland, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Jonathan, and Rome.

Although I find myself craving this comforting apple tart on a stormy day like this, it was still delicious after a warm day in Washington. In my opinion, and I don't think many would argue, apple desserts can be served any time of the year. We ate this delectable tart right out of the oven served with vanilla ice, but it could also be served room temperature at a summer barbecue or picnic. This french apple tart is the perfect dessert, rain or shine!

French Apple Tart

From Barefoot Contessa’s Back to Basics Cookbook

For the Pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
½ cup ice water

For the Apples
4 Granny Smith apples
½ cup sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small-diced
½ cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam
2 tablespoons Calvados, rum, or water

For the pastry, place the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 x 14 inches. Using a ruler and small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.

Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife an a melon baller. Slice the apples crosswise in ¼-inch-thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (I tend not to use the apple ends in order to make the arrangement beautiful.) Sprinkle with the full ½ cup sugar and dot with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don’t worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine! When the tart’s done, heat the apricot jelly together with the Calvados and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn’t stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.