Author – Autumn (Janette)
I have no idea how this happened, but I have been receiving A Taste of Home magazine for the past few months. The October issue arrived right after we returned home from France, and I was excited to see a recipe for a French apple tart (tarte aux pommes). After eating such great foods during our bicycling trip, I wanted to get my French on when we returned home. The nice thing about an extended cycling trip is that your metabolism goes into high gear, and calories are burned very quickly. A great place to have that happen is France!
When I made the apple tart, I decided to switch up the recipe a little, but it turned out great, though much much sweeter than any apple tart you would ever eat in France.
I wanted a pie crust base for my tart, and the recipe had a caramelized sugar base. So, I just used a purchased crust and pre-baked it in a springform pan for 8 minutes while the sugar and water caramelized on the stove. Pre-baking the crust before the fillings were added insured that it would not get soggy later.
While the crust prebaked, I combined the sugar and water in a teflon coated skillet to caramelize. The directions said to not stir this combination while it cooks.
I didn’t stir, and it quickly burned. Whoops!
I used a heavy iron skillet for the second go-round, AND I stirred the mixture briefly. This is what it looked like before getting to the nice browned caramelized stage.
I quickly poured the caramelized sugar into the pie crust, added the sliced apples in a fan-like pattern, and then topped them with a cream cheese mixture. I then followed the baking directions given in the recipe.
It looked like this after I ate the first slice which was my entire lunch. All I can say is yum. You must try this one.
FRENCH APPLE TART
Recipe contributed to A Taste of Home by KC Quaretti-Lee
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
4 tsp. water
4 tsp. lemon juice
3 cups sliced/peeled apples
3 eggs
1 cup butter, melted
4 ounces cream cheese, cubed and softened
1 cup flour
1. In a small heavy skillet, combine 3/4 cup sugar and water. Cook without stirring for about 25 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and quickly pour into a 10-in springform pan, coating bottom. Arrange apple slices on caramel in a circular overlapping pattern.
2. In a bowl, beat eggs and remaining sugar till blended. Beat in butter, cream cheese and flour till smooth. Spread over apples.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 – 40 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, and then gently remove the sides of the pan.
(My changes – I used a pie crust as an additional layer. I stirred the sugar mixture and cooked it about 10 minutes rather than the 25 called for in the recipe).
Take care and have a great week-end.
I read a tip on pie crusts the other day to insure the doneness when cooking. While preheating oven, add a pizza stone to the oven then bake the crust on the stone. The tipster claimed that she has had no more soggy crusts after using this trick. Makes sense and worth a try I thought!! Have to say that I have not done any baking since I read this so no first hand knowledge.
Such a darling, eco-friendly idea!!
May I ? I’m French and we say “tarte aux pommes” and as much as I can see on the picture, it even looks like a “tarte Tatin”. (It was named after two sisters, the Tatin sisters, who once did a tart and accidentally put it up side down in the oven). Enjoy, it’s delicious !
Thanks for the heads-up. The error has been corrected. I’m glad you saw this before my French teacher!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I live in Auvergne (45 km north west from Clermont-Ferrand). It’s a land of farms, hills and old volcanos. You must have come nearby on your trip south to Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer !