French Apple Tart

This recipe is one that I adapted from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking," which is a great read.  I have benefited much from her recipes and would highly recommend it to any home or professional baker.

It is a very easy recipe, and as fancy as it looks, I urge readers to not be intimidated by this dish.  It is so simple and would make a great "go-to" dessert when you learn that you might have to throw something sweet together on short notice.

The serving size of this recipe can be easily adjusted, because each recipe makes one individual tart.

Ingredients:

 Store-bought Puff Pastry, thawed to room temperature (you of course could make it yourself, if you have the time and are feeling ambitious)

Golden Delicious Apple

Cold Butter

Brown Sugar

Salt

Cinnamon

Granulated Sugar

Egg

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Preheat the oven to 400° F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  While your oven is heating, unfold your Puff Pastry and roll it to about 1/8 inch thickness.  Place your Puff Pastry on the baking sheet.  Prepare your apple by peeling the skin off, slicing it in half, removing the stem and core, then quartering one of the halves into four pieces.  Place the apple half over part of the Puff Pastry and leave enough room for about a 1 inch border around it.  Using a small paring knife, cut a circle around the apple (I used a small bowl placed over it as a tracing guide).  Now sprinkle the tart with 2 teaspoons of Brown Sugar, 1/8 teaspoon of Salt, and a pinch of Cinnamon.  Dot the tart with 1 teaspoon of Cold Butter.  Use the scraps of the leftover Puff Pastry to cut out a leaf shape and score lines in it to use as a garnish, if desired.  Beat an Egg with 1 tablespoon of Granulated Sugar to brush on the tart as an egg wash.  Sprinkle extra sugar on top if you want it to be even sweeter.  Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until the apple can be easily pierced with a small knife to indicate if it is baked through.

It can be served warm or at room temperature, and makes for a great combination when served with vanilla ice cream!

Bon appetit!