Friday, October 12, 2012

French Fridays with Dorie - Crispy, Crackly Apple-Almond Tart


Today`s chosen recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is “Crispy, Crackly Apple-Almond Tart”, a very pretty and simple rectangular apple tart with lots of crunchy layers of phyllo dough. The phyllo dough consists of paper-thin sheets of unleavened flour dough used for making pastries in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisine.




We have been eating a very similar tart for the longest time, I cannot remember how many times I made an apple tart with a puff pastry base and rows of delicious sliced apples, sometimes I also make a hazelnut cream as a layer beneath the rows of sliced apples and most of the time I serve a homemade warm vanilla custard sauce (”Vanillesauce”) alongside. But this time, I followed Dorie´s wonderful recipe exactly and the result was an amazingly delicious “Crispy, Crackly Apple-Almond Tart”.




The first step is the preparation of the almond cream with all but six ingredients, namely almond flour (easily done by grinding almonds into a fine meal, I should mention that I left the skins on the almonds), superfine white sugar, an egg, vanilla extract (I used homemade vanilla sugar), a pinch of fine salt and a few tablespoons of cream (I used 35% cream). Since the almond cream needs a three hour rest in the refrigerator, a bit of planning is required. Once the almond cream has had a rest, the next step in the recipe calls for layering eight sheets of phyllo (I made nine layers), brushing each layer with melted butter and sprinkling a bit of sugar over each buttered layer. 




After I layered the phyllo dough on a baking sheet, I spread the almond cream (leavening a border) on the dough, peeled the apples and arranged them in rows on top of the almond cream. The tart needed to bake for a good forty minutes. The sides of the baked tart curled up around the layers of the apples and the almond cream - an effect that is wanted for this tart.




Last step in this recipe is the “finishing touch”, brushing a glaze of apple jelly over the apples – this will make the tart taste even more delicious and it looks even prettier with the rows of “shiny looking” apple slices.




Usually I use a local apple jelly to brush my apple tarts but this time, I used an apple jam with cinnamon (“Confiture Pommes à la Cannelle”) that I heated ever so slightly and strained before brushing it over the tart. I found this cute Weck jar with the apple cinnamon jam in my favorite Dutch kitchen supply store “Dille Kamille” and just could not resist – it added a delicious finishing touch to the tart, all 80 grams of it (which is not more than a heaping tablespoon).




I brought the apple tart to the table "whole", as Dorie so aptly points out, bringing this tart to the table before it is cut, makes for a pretty presentation. This is a fun tart to prepare with ingredients that are fairly easy to procure. I like that you can make it with local produce such as apples and apple jelly from your favorite farmer´s store or market. This recipe is a keeper and a nice change to our usual puff pastry apple tart.

To see how the other Doristas fared with this wonderful “Crispy, Crackly Apple-Almond Tart”, please click here.


For more Filo Tart inspiration on my blog, have a look at:

  • December Filo Tart with Mini Brussels Sprouts (Winterliche Filotarte mit Rosenkohlröschen) (HERE)
  • Filo Tart with fresh Figs & Prosciutto (Filotarte mit frischen Feigen & Prosciutto) (HERE)
  • River Cottage "Veg Everyday" Courgette and Filo Rice Pie (HERE)
  • Filo Tart with White Asparagus, Goat Cheese & Meadowsweet Blossoms (Filotarte mit weißem Spargel, Ziegenkäse & Mädesüßblüten) (HERE)
  • Red Swiss Chard & Mushroom Filo Tart (Filotarte mit rotem Mangold & braunen Champignons) (HERE)






22 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos - would LOVE to try that apple cinnamon jam! :)

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  2. Looks delicious. I ended up making a version closer to your usual tart simply because my Edeka didn't have filo dough and I was running too late in the week to shop around. I have to say, I was shocked that Edeka didn't have it!

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  3. Beautiful, beautiful tart! And with such a nice accompanying jam! Very nice!

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  4. Lovely tart - it looks delicious:) Apple cinnamon jam sounds wonderful - great glaze for the tart.

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  5. Your phyllo sheets are incredibly crispy. Such a gorgeous tart Andrea! I love the idea of a custard sauce also with this, more of a dessert feel to it. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  6. Beautiful! This was a delcious tart, wasn't it? I love that little jar of jam you have. Good things come in small packages.

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  7. Andrea, love the idea of the phyllo pastry with this tart and the cinnamon apple jam to add an extra layer of flavour. Great, great photos!

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  8. Just beautiful! Your tart looks bakery-perfect!

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  9. I don't know if it was you or Candy Wong who introduced me to Weck canning jars (didn't you write a post about them?) but I am slowly collecting them. Your fourth picture is priceless - just shows the essence of this dessert. And, your explanations and directions are, as always, wonderfully clear. I am thinking of you and your family during this sad time, Andrea.

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  10. Beautiful photo Andrea! I like the way each layer of phyllo shows!

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  11. Your tart and photos are gorgeous as always, Andrea! You can really see the layers in yours which is what I also loved about making this tart with phyllo. How neat that you found some cinnamon apple jam in Weck jars. Love those jars! I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

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  12. I love how the separated filo layers look, all pretty and golden brown! The jar of apple/cinnamon jelly looks much larger than what it actually was. Thanks for the lovely message on my post - I am very happy to be back blogging with you guys.

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  13. Bugger the waistline, this would be just too good to pass up. This is gorgeous!

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  14. Absolutely perfect. The apple-cinnamon jam looks so good and a lovely finished to a beautiful tart.

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  15. Beautifully done - I like the way you captured the layers of dough.

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  16. Gorgeous photographs!! I want this apple-cinnamon jelly NOW!!!!

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  17. Picture perfect photos...I love all the visible filo layers! And what a delightful jam topping! Well done, my friend.

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  18. Absolutely gorgeous, Andrea! Such a wonderful jelly to use for the glaze! I thought of using sprinkling some cinnamon over the top of the apples. As always beautifully done! Have a great weekend!

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  19. Your tart looks so beautiful! I have been lazy about blog-reading lately so I'm sorry that I haven't gotten here until now, but wow! Your pictures are always so dang pretty!

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  20. I have my very first phyllo in my freezer and I will definitely try this recipe. I normally make easy apple pie with pie sheet, but the layers of phyllo will definitely satisfy my liking for crispy texture!

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  21. Your tart looks perfect, Andrea. I love how the edges curled up. My almond cream weeped over the edge, so I didn't get that look. Such an elegant dessert to share! Have a great weekend.

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  22. Beautiful! I love the photos showing the curled edges of the pastry especially. A hint of cinnamon would have been lovely with this tart and your description of your usual apple tart gives me some ideas for future experiments. Hope you're having a great week!

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