Ina Garten-Inspired Apple Tart
There is no cornflour in this, no precooked filling and no blind baking. The whole thing rests on one measurement.
Slice the apples to two millimetres and they cook through in the same forty-five minutes the pastry needs. Thicker slices are still raw when the pastry is done, which is why so many recipes tell you to stew the apples first — they are solving a problem created by a thick slice. Thin enough, and the apple softens, the sugar caramelises and the pastry rises, all on the same clock.
A mandoline is the easy way. A sharp knife and patience is the other one.
Jump to the recipe ↓Ina Garten-Inspired Apple Tart
Serves 8 · Dessert
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 1 hr 10 min
Easy7 steps
Ingredients
- 1 sheet all-butter puff pastry, about 375 g
- 4 firm apples, cored and sliced 2 mm
- 100 g caster sugar
- 60 g cold butter, diced small
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, optional
- 3 tbsp apricot jam
- 1 tbsp calvados or water
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Line a large tray.
- Roll the pastry onto the tray. Score a 2 cm border, cutting halfway through, so the edge rises and the middle does not.
- Slice the apples 2 mm thick and lay them overlapping inside the border, in rows.
- Scatter the sugar over, then dot the butter across the whole surface.
- Chill the assembled tart.15 minutes
- Bake , until the pastry edge is deep brown and the apple tips have caught.40–45 minutes
- Warm the jam with the calvados and brush it over while the tart is hot.
The pastry has to go into the oven cold
Puff pastry rises because the water in hundreds of layers of cold butter turns to steam and forces them apart. Butter that has warmed and soaked into the dough cannot do that — it just fries. Assemble the tart, then put the whole tray back in the fridge for fifteen minutes before it goes anywhere near the oven.
Use an apple that holds its shape
Bramleys collapse into sauce, which is what you want in a pie and not what you want here. Braeburn, Honeycrisp or Granny Smith keep their edges and stay tart enough to carry the sugar.
The glaze is not decoration
Apricot jam brushed on hot does two things: it seals the fruit so the tart does not dry out over the afternoon, and it adds the acidity that stops the whole thing tasting only of sugar and butter. Sieve it if it has lumps.
Storing
Best within hours. It keeps a day at room temperature, uncovered — a lid traps steam and the base goes soft. Ten minutes at 180°C brings the pastry back.
Questions people ask
Do I need to precook the apples?
No, provided you slice them to about 2 mm. Precooking exists to compensate for thick slices.
Which apples work?
Firm, tart varieties — Braeburn, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp. Bramley turns to purée.
Why is my pastry soggy underneath?
Usually a warm start. Chill the assembled tart before baking, and bake on the lower half of the oven.
Can I make it ahead?
Assemble and refrigerate for a few hours, then bake before serving. Baked and left overnight, the base softens.
More like this
Ina Garten-Inspired Apple Crisp: Use Two ApplesOne variety that collapses into sauce and one that holds its shape. A single apple gives you either all mush or all chunks.
Ina Garten-Inspired Blueberry Ricotta Cake: Drain ItSupermarket ricotta carries a lot of loose whey. Drain it in a sieve for an hour or the batter is too wet and the cake sinks.
Ina Garten-Inspired Bread Pudding: Use a Water BathThis is a custard with bread in it, and custards curdle at the edges under direct heat. A tray of hot water fixes it entirely.