It has been a while since my Dad passed away. And almost every year on the day of his passing I try to make one of his favorite foods. He savored his whiskey, relished a good meal and salivated over dessert. Ice cream was always on the menu, especially butterscotch, a flavor he inevitably ordered in spite of a plethora of flavors. Today's apple tart was another such pastry he loved. And so as today marks another year since he's been gone, I make one in his memory again.
Feel free to use store bought puff pastry. Making the real thing is a labor, not quite one of love. Apple halves are splayed onto sugar dusted pastry. Baked in a hot oven, the tart is then slathered with apricot jam. A sweet ending to remember my wonderful Dad.
APPLE TART
By Julia Child
Serves 4-6
1 sheet of store bought Puff Pastry
2 small Apples
4 teaspoons Sugar
1/2 cup Apricot Jam
Defrost puff pastry.
Unroll it onto an upturned baking sheet.
Fold the edges inwards to form a rim.
Press the times of a fork into the edges to make a border.
Place sheet with pastry in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Heat oven to 375F/200C.
Cut apples in halves. Core and peel them.
Slice each half into 1/8 inch thin slices.
Remove sheet from the fridge.
Dust entire base of pastry with 3 spoons of sugar.
Use a large knife to gently flatten one half of the apple so it fans out long. Place this breadthwise on one end of the pastry.
Repeat with other halves. Place the next apple layer going the other way so you have contrasting columns of apples, as shown below.
You might not need all four halves, depending on the size of the pastry. I used 3 big halves.
Dust apple slices with remaining sugar.
Bake for 20-25 minutes till the crust is golden brown.
Remove tart from oven and cool on a wire rack.
If the jam is not too smooth, heat it for 10 seconds in the microwave.
Brush the tart with jam all over.
The tart is best eaten the day it is made. Puff pastry tend to get soggy if kept overnight.
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