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| BEAUTIFUL FRENCH APPLE TART |
We, especially Hubby, love fruit tarts at our house. Today's Contributing Baker, Leslie Mackie, instructs us in how to bake a beautiful FRENCH APPLE TART.
Because I have a large family and had several home for dinner, I chose to bake a 10" tart which created a larger middle space; too large for a rosette as lovely as in the provided photograph.
I bake pies and tarts often...sometimes 50 or 75 at a time. I enjoy baking pies for church dinners or for the trendy wedding receptions of friend's children and for a nephew who choose wedding pie over wedding cake...I do it just for fun. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, I'm sure we ate over 35 pies at home. I'm not professional, but I do know good pie.
With that in mind, I will critique today's pie.
The crust was lovely (and not as dark as my photo makes it appear), however, because of an applesauce like filling below the lovely apple rosette topping, and with several juicy apples on top, the juices from the apples caused the crust to absorb a little too much moisture to remove cleanly and without cracking from the tart pan. Even with two bakings, (first for the crust alone and second as a filled tart) this tart did not perfectly remove from the pan....it's OK, but not satisfactory to me. And I do not like soggy crust! Not even a little bit soggy! (Maybe my bread crumbs were not "fluffy" enough? Needed something a little more absorbent.)
Because we love apple pie, I was honestly excited to try a new apple pie-like recipe. We have our standard favorites, but I enjoy trying new pie recipes and ideas...some become new favorites.
With a very healthy bam of confectioner's sugar, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel, this was a wonderful dessert, but without that extra sweetness I did not care for this tart. A tart made with Granny Smith apples and fresh lemon juice is simply too tart. If I had used, instead, an apple such as a Golden Delicious, I would have enjoyed the simple apple flavor much better.
I'm not the only one with these thoughts. At least a third of this lovely pie went to the trash, and that never happens here. It was nice for a taste, and for something different. It was pretty to see, but not up to my standards.
The confectioner's sugar - that's what I forgot! I kept thinking this needed a tad more sweet and lo and behold I forgot a sweet element.
ReplyDeleteKris - you are the pie pro in my book!
Rats, I'm sorry yours was too tart! I didn't have that problem...wonder if it was a difference in apples? I bet yellow delicious would have been perfect.
ReplyDeleteI forgot the confectioner's sugar too! Sorry you didn't enjoy it. But I think because you're a pie maker you already know what a good pie is. And how to make a good pie crust.....that is definitely an art....and one that I have not totally mastered yet. But I did like this crust.
ReplyDeleteYour tart looks spectacular!
I'm glad you posted about the tartness of this recipe. I haven't baked mine yet (the pieces are in the fridge), and I was considering adding more sugar on top than the tsp or two called for. Mostly for caramelization purposes -- but it's good to know I can be generous with the sugar and it will likely enhance the final flavor. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI didn't find this too tart (no pun intended!), but I did find the flavor to be lacking. I thought it was kinda boring. It has a very striking look, but it just didn't impress me. Yours does look very beautiful, though! Bravo for making it look delicious!
ReplyDeleteI'm so agree with you the apple choice isn't good, I think it devalues the dessert, but I wasn't totally disapointed, just not exalted as I hoped for an apple tart. I'll probably make this recipe with some changes and could compare!!!
ReplyDeleteAnyway your tart looks beautiful!
Sorry to hear this didn't quite work for you. I think I had quite ripe granny smiths, and I added a good dose of sugar to help the topping caramelise, both of which probably helped.
ReplyDeleteI made the tart a second time, and added dark chocolate and raspberry jam as an extra layer of filling. Some people liked it better as the flavour was punchier. But I also liked the apple puree on its own.
I'm sorry you didn't enjoy this one, Kris. I used Galas because that's what I had. I wonder if a combination of galas and grannys would be good - that whole sweet/tart combo like the marie helene's cake we made in FFwD. I think it would be fun to play around with this one. I was a little frustrated with the crust, but I don't think I put enough ice water in mine, but in the end it seemed to hold together. Regardless, your tart is beautiful and your apple slices are cut perfectly! I need to master your cutting technique.
ReplyDeleteAgree with you...granny smith apples are too tart.
ReplyDeleteCarmen
http://bakingismyzen.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/twd-baking-with-julia-french-apple-tart/
So sorry Kris! I used Galas for the filling and the granny Smith for the topping! I loved this tart…and it was a big hit with my Bunco group! Your tart does look pretty, sorry it was not a keeper!!
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely the pie queen, Kris! Bummer that this wasn't a hit at your house. I love that you drizzled it with caramel. What a great way to gild the lily!
ReplyDeleteKrissy, sorry to read that you and your family did not really enjoy this tart very much although your French Apple Tart looks so very pretty the way you arranged all your apple slices on top. I did pre-bake the tart shell a bit longer than the original recipe called for, maybe that is what kept it from getting soggy, who knows. I am sure that this tart can be baked with a "sweeter" varity of apples too. But I am sure that you have tons of other wonderful apple pie recipes that you use regularly that work much better for you! I would be curious to know which one is your favorite, I am always on the look-out for delicious apple pie recipes.
ReplyDeleteHave a great Wednesday and thank you also for the wonderful comment you left on my blog!
Oh no - sorry to hear that it wasn't a hit. I took most of my tart to work, and the complaint from some was that it was too sweet! It just goes to show how subjective taste is. Your tart looked so pretty,, in any event, and I am glad you baked along this week.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think grannies are too tart, and I agree with you that the crust can get a little soggy. I am sorry that you didn't enjoy it. It looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThat is too bad that yours were too tart- I think mine lacked a little flavor. Granny's are hard to tell since they look great on the outside!
ReplyDelete