French Apple Tart – Bess Greenfield

This is a nice alternative to apple pie. It’s more about the buttery apples than the crust. The recipe is very forgiving so exact quantities are not important. My children loved it.

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FRENCH APPLE TART

For the shortcrust pastry:

1¼ cups flour

½ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

½ cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

3-6 tbsp iced water

In a food processor, sift together flour, salt and sugar. Add butter and pulse. Add water and mix until crumbly dough begins to form. Flatten dough into a round, wrap in plastic, and chill for 2 hours.

For the Tart:

5 large apples, peeled, quartered, and cored

1 tbsp lemon juice

¼ cup sugar

3 tbsp butter

shortcrust pastry

crème fraîche or lightly whipped cream to serve

1. Cut each apple quarter lengthwise into 2 or 3 slices. Sprinkle with lemon juice and sugar and toss to combine.

2. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat and add apples. Cook until golden brown (about 12 minutes). Preheat oven to 375 F.

3. Roll out dough to a 12-inch round pastry and transfer to a baking sheet.

4. Heap apple slices onto the pastry round. Leave a 2-inch border around the edge of the pastry. Turn up border and gather it around the apples.

5. Bake tart for 35-40 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden brown.

6. Serve warm with crème fraîche or cream.

When her social conscience and avant-garde art trigger rumors of mental instability, New York heiress Jeanne Delancy flees to Paris to begin her life anew as an independent painter. But the political turmoil of 1871 leaves her with an abandoned child to protect and a tragic mystery to solve. Struggling and desperate, Jeanne is stunned to receive an absurdly lucrative commission from a handsome, aristocratic cavalry officer. The former wallflower has every reason to mistrust the arrogant, yet charming comte de Chaumenay, but she finds the offer difficult to refuse and her new patron even harder to resist.

Consumed with remorse over his past, war hero Olivier Valencourt is certain the beguiling American beauty he discovers in a Montmartre hovel holds the key to his redemption. To convince her to reveal a truth only she can tell, he plots to win her confidence through patronage, patience, and his never-before-tested powers of persuasion. But it doesn't take long for the bohemian's unconventional wisdom and innocent sensuality to obliterate his self-control and divert his agenda entirely. While the strong-willed opposites struggle to reconcile their deepest longings, dangerous alliances and scandalous secrets threaten a tragic repetition of history.

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http://www.bessgreenfield.com