How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (2024)

  • French Desserts
  • Dessert Tarts
  • Moroccan Desserts
  • Fruit Recipes
  • Apple Recipes

By

Christine Benlafquih

How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (1)

Christine Benlafquih

Christine Benlafquih is a freelance writer and cooking class instructor with a background in Moroccan cuisine.

Learn about The Spruce Eats'Editorial Process

Updated on 01/6/23

Tested by

Kayla Hoang

How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (2)

Tested byKayla Hoang

Kayla Hoang is a freelance recipe developer, writer, and baker whose Bangladeshi and Vietnamese roots influence all she does. Her life revolves around food and she can almost always be found waiting by the oven for a fresh batch of cookies.

Learn about The Spruce Eats'Editorial Process

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How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (3)

Prep: 70 mins

Cook: 60 mins

Chill and Cool: 5 hrs

Total: 7 hrs 10 mins

Servings: 8 servings

A variety of French fruit tarts are popular in Morocco but given a choice, I'll always choose Tarte aux Pommes over other offerings. Thinly sliced apples are tossed with sugar and a little bit of cinnamon, and then attractively layered in a sweet pastry shell lined with pastry cream (creme patisserie). Baking caramelizes the apples, while an apricot glaze adds sheen and a bit of tartness to the finished dessert.

Although the flavors are similar, this is not as quick to throw together as American-style apple pie. Not only will you need to give a little more care to how you slice and arrange the apples, but you'll need to plan ahead to make both the pastry cream and pastry dough well in advance of assembling the tart.

The Best Apple Varieties for Baking and Eating

"While it requires a bit of time and planning, this tart is as delicious as it is beautiful. The pastry cream is easy to make and not overly sweet, the crust bakes up nice and crisp, and the apples cook down perfectly." —Kayla Hoang

How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (5)

A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

For the Pastry Dough:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 cupunsalted butter, cold,cut into bits

  • 1 large egg yolk

  • Ice-cold water

For the Pastry Cream:

  • 3 large egg yolks

  • 3 to 4 tablespoons sugar

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

  • 1 cup whole milk

  • 1vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 teaspoonvanilla extract

For the Apple Layer:

  • 3 large or 4 small apples, preferably firm and tart

  • 1/2 cup sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For the Glaze:

  • 1/4 cup apricot jam

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice or water

Steps to Make It

Make the Pastry Dough

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (6)

  2. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (7)

  3. Add the cold butter and work it into the flour mixture with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (8)

  4. Work in the egg yolk until the mixture looks like a fine meal.

  5. Then use a fork to stir in ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough can be gathered together and pressed into a ball.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (10)

  6. Shape and flatten the dough into a smooth disc shape, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (11)

Make the Pastry Cream

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (12)

  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (13)

  3. Whisk in the flour and cornstarch until smooth; set aside.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (14)

  4. In a saucepan, heat the milk with vanilla bean almost to boiling. If using vanilla extract, add it later in step 6.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (15)

  5. Remove the vanilla bean, then slowly and gradually whisk the milk into the egg mixture.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (16)

  6. Strain the mixture back into the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking or stirring constantly, until thickened. Continue cooking for another half minute while stirring, then remove from the heat. Whisk in the vanilla extract, if using.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (17)

  7. Lay a piece of plastic film on the surface of the pastry cream. Cool down the pastry cream by either chilling it in the fridge or over an ice bath, stirring from time to time.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (18)

Assemble and Bake the Tart

  1. Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 F/200 C.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (19)

  2. Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (20)

  3. Place the slices in a bowl and toss gently with the sugar and cinnamon.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (21)

  4. If the apples start to brown, you can toss in a tablespoon of lemon juice.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (22)

  5. Roll out the pastry into a circle about 1/8-inch thick and fit into a 9-inchtart pan, trimming the excess dough.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (23)

  6. Give the chilled pastry cream a good whisk to loosen and smooth it out. Spread the pastry cream across the bottom of the pastry shell.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (24)

  7. Arrange the apple slices in a pattern over the pastry cream and dot the apples with tiny bits of butter.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (25)

  8. Wrap strips of aluminum foil around the edges of the tart pan to protect the crust from burning.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (26)

  9. Bake the tart in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (27)

  10. Remove the foil, and continue baking for another 10 minutes, or until the apples and crust are nicely colored.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (28)

  11. Remove the tart to a rack to cool.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (29)

  12. While the tart is still warm, heat the apricot jam with the lemon juice until boiling.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (30)

  13. Strain the mixture.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (31)

  14. Then use a pastry brush to apply the apricot glaze over the apples.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (32)

  15. Refrigerate the tart when it has cooled completely.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (33)

  16. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

    How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (34)

Tips

  • For greater ease transferring the tart into and out of the oven, build the tart in the tart pan set on a rimmed baking sheet. Baking the tart on a baking sheet will not change the cook time.
  • The sugar quantity in the pastry recipe below is for a less sweet shortcrust; if you'd prefer a sweeter pastry dough, follow the pate sucree recipe instead.

Recipe Variation

  • Alternate versions of this recipe include theFrench strawberry tartand ​the​​French peach tart.

French Dessert Recipes

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
432Calories
18g Fat
63g Carbs
8g Protein

×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories432
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 18g23%
Saturated Fat 10g49%
Cholesterol 176mg59%
Sodium 191mg8%
Total Carbohydrate 63g23%
Dietary Fiber 3g11%
Total Sugars 37g
Protein 8g
Vitamin C 5mg27%
Calcium 71mg5%
Iron 2mg10%
Potassium 218mg5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

  • apple
  • dessert
  • french
  • fall

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How to Make French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream (2024)

FAQs

What are the best apples for apple tarts? ›

The results are way more delicate and not as sweet as a shortbread shell, but provides the perfect base for our apples. The best apples for an apple tart: We're partial to Granny Smith, Honeycrip, and Gala, but you can really use any baking apple that you prefer in this recipe!

How much is the apple tart at Trader Joe's? ›

Ina Garten swears by 'delicious' Trader Joe's $7.99 apple tart for entertaining.

Can you make a tart without a tart pan? ›

Use a round cake pan to make a tart crust

And according to one of the cook's posts, you don't have to buy a special pan to make a tart crust because you can make it just as well with a round cake baking dish. Because a round cake pan is already the right shape for a tart it acts like a reversed tart pan.

Can you freeze uncooked apple tarts? ›

Last fall I learned you could freeze entirely assembled un-baked pies; then bake the frozen-solid pies directly from the freezer… no thawing required. This fall, I gave the method a go with this French apple tart. For this recipe, simply follow the process through step 5, stopping after you add the cubed butter.

What is the crispiest tart apple? ›

What Are The Crunchiest Apples?
  • Crisp Apples Ranked: Crunchiest to Least Crunchy.
  • SweeTango. ...
  • Honeycrisp. ...
  • Cosmic Crisp® ...
  • Pink Lady® ...
  • Rave® ...
  • Pinata® ...
  • Granny Smith.

What makes an apple taste tart? ›

The organic compound malate has a large impact on the taste of many of our most popular fruits, for example grapes (Vitis vinifera), tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), and in particular apples (Malus domestica). The amount of malate in apples determines how tart (sour) or how sweet we perceive their taste.

What is the best sweet and tart apple? ›

Apple Sweetness Chart
Types of ApplesSweetest Level
Red Delicioussweet-tart mix but very mild in flavor
Honeycrispgreat balance of sweet and tart, with a rich, aromatic flavor
New! Cosmicvery sweet with some tartness
New! Opalquite sweet and slightly floral (similar to Honeycrisp)
7 more rows
Aug 9, 2022

Which apple is the most tart? ›

Which varieties are considered tart apples? The apple with the tartest flavor on the Apple Sweetness Scale is the Granny Smith apple. You can spot them by looking for their bright green skin! Other tart apples include: Pink Lady®, Braeburn, McIntosh, Jonathan, Empire, and Cortland apples.

What's the difference between apple pie and apple tart? ›

The main difference is that tarts only have a bottom crust, and the crust is much thicker than a pie crust. Galettes – This is basically a pie made without using a pie dish, but because that would be too simple galettes can be made with any type of pastry dough.

Can I use a pie tin instead of a tart pan? ›

Q: Can you make a tart in a pie pan? A: If you're in a pinch, you can certainly press your tart shell into a pie pan and fill it. The presentation, though, won't be as nice and you will have some difficulting slicing and serving. The better substitute for a tart pan is a springform pan.

Can I use a springform pan for tart? ›

Springform Pan 101: What is a Springform Pan and How Do You Use It. Springform pans are great for making cheesecakes, tarts, pies and even frozen desserts.

What type of pan should you use to cook a tart? ›

A tart pan is a shallow baking pan with fluted sides used to make tarts. It is typically round, but you can also find square and rectangular ones. Tart crust is usually firm and crumbly, which is why tarts are usually displayed outside the tart pan.

How long does homemade apple tart last in the fridge? ›

Cover and chill for at least 30 mins. Will keep chilled for two days.

What is the shelf life of apple tarts? ›

An apple pie typically lasts 3-4 days once it is cut. It will stay fresh for that amount of time if stored in the fridge.

Does an apple tart need to be refrigerated? ›

Well, it depends — a regular apple pie that just contains sugar will last up to two days at room temperature, but an apple pie that is made with custard or cream or has egg in the filling needs to be refrigerated in order to prevent foodborne illness.

What kind of apples are tart cooking apples? ›

Granny Smith apples: Bright green with a citrusy flavor, Granny Smith apples are perhaps the most popular baking apple in the US. These apples are tart and crunchy with high acidity. They don't have the strongest apple flavor, so they're great for mixing with sweeter varieties for a balanced apple pie filling.

What kind of apples are tart apples? ›

Granny Smith, McIntosh, and Pink Lady fall on the tart end of the spectrum. While tart apples can be great for snacking, they're often ideal for baking and can handle a lot of added sweetness. Other types, like Braeburn and Golden Delicious apples, fall somewhere in the middle.

What are the top 5 apples for baking? ›

For the best pies, crisps, and other baked treats, apples need to be firm enough to hold their own during the cooking process. We call these apples “baking apples” and to namedrop, they include Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.

What are the three best apples for apple pie? ›

The best apples for making apple pie
  • Braeburn. This apple is a descendant of Granny Smith, but slightly sweeter. ...
  • Cortland. ...
  • Crispin (Mutsu). ...
  • Golden Delicious. ...
  • Granny Smith. ...
  • Honeycrisp. ...
  • Jonagold or Jonathan. ...
  • Northern Spy.
Oct 8, 2021

References

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