French Apple Tart with Nougat
User Reviews
5
French Apple Tart with Nougat
Description
This French Apple Tart with Nougat starts with a pâte sucrée, a sweet, buttery pastry dough made from butter, sugar, egg, flour, and ground almonds. After chilling the dough, it is rolled out and blind baked to achieve a crisp, golden crust. The filling is made from peeled and cored apples gently cooked with butter, vanilla, and cane sugar until tender but still chunky. The tart is completed with a nougat topping that combines egg whites, sugar, and almonds or mixed nuts, creating a textured, sweet layer atop the apples.
The final tart offers a contrast in textures from the crisp pastry to the soft apple filling and crunchy nougat topping. The use of ground almonds in the crust and nuts in the nougat enhances the nuttiness of the dessert. The vanilla powder adds depth to the sweetness.
Serve the tart the same day for best texture and freshness. It pairs well with vanilla ice cream, crème fraîche, chestnut ice cream, or a warmed salted caramel sauce, providing options to complement the tart's flavors. The recipe suggests using firm baking apples like Braeburn, Golden, or Granny Smith to maintain texture in the filling.
For best results, precise measurements using digital scales are recommended. The tart can be refrigerated overnight or frozen with proper wrapping. Blind baking the pastry ensures a crisp base that avoids sogginess from the apple filling.
Ingredients
Sweet Pastry
- 125 g (4.5oz/½ cup) butter softened, unsalted
- 75 g (2.75oz/½ cup) confectioners sugar aka icing sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt (fleur de sel)
- 1 medium egg (organic)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla powder or extract
- 200 g (7oz/ 1 ⅔ cups) all-purpose flour type 45, plain
- 40 g (1.75oz/scant ½ cup) ground almonds aka almond flour
Chunky Apple Filling
- 3 apple peeled & cored, Braeburn, Golden or Granny Smith
- 30 g (1oz/ 2 tbsp) butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla powder (or 1 ¾ teaspoon extract)
- 30 g (2 tbsp) cane sugar (or Turbinado)
Nougat Topping
- 55 g (2oz/¼ cup) egg white, organic
- 55 g (2oz/¼ cup) sugar
- 55 g (2oz/ ⅓ cup) almonds or mix with broken walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, slivered
Instructions
Sweet Pastry Base
- Mix the butter and sugar in a stand mixer until pale and creamy (use a paddle beater, otherwise mix by hand but use cold butter).Add salt then other ingredients until just mixed, then stop. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film or in a bag and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.For more complete instructions, follow the recipe on pages 106-109 in my book, 'Teatime in Paris' and the pâte sucrée recipe.
- Take the pastry out of the fridge. Roll out the pastry on a very lightly floured surface to 4mm thickness. Press into the pastry ring or pan. Roll over the rolling pin on top to trim then push the pastry again into the ring to ensure it's straight against the sides. Return it to the fridge for at least 30 minutes.Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/360°F/Gas4.
- Blind bake the pastry by topping with parchment paper and fill with baking beans, washed coins, rice or dried beans. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, then set aside to cool on a wire rack, removing the baking beans (this seems short but it will be baked again later with the apples).
Apple Filling
- Prepare a sheet of parchment paper on the side. Heat a large frying pan over high heat and add the butter. Meanwhile, chop the apples into large dice (cut them quickly and there's no need to use lemon juice). When the butter is golden, fry the apples in sugar and vanilla for at least 5 minutes until seared a golden brown on one side. Turn the apples, cooking on high still for another 2 minutes then transfer to the parchment to cool.
Nougat Topping
- In a bowl, whisk the egg whites just with a fork until loosened up then stir in the sugar and sliced/chopped) nuts.
- Evenly spread the cooled apples into the pastry base and top with the nougat. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- Best eaten on the day of preparation for optimal texture and flavor, but can be refrigerated until the next day.
- Freezing is possible; double wrapping is recommended to preserve quality.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream, crème fraîche, chestnut ice cream, or salted caramel sauce for added flavor.
- Use firm baking apples like Braeburn, Golden, or Granny Smith for the filling.
- Precise metric measurements are advised for best pastry results.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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