Saturday, March 26, 2011

The Apple Tart

Sadly to date the the best thing that I have ever baked besides pizza is nachos... For some reason I have the need to bake an apple tart?!? No specific reason - I'm not even much of a dessert person - I just wanna...

So this is a two part entry - the before and after...

The Before:

I'm told that tarts are not too hard to make at home - that is if you're not the baking blunder that I am.

I've looked at a lot of recipes and they're all pretty close - I've put together the simplest recipe for an apple tart that I could come up with

Ready-made pie crust
Apples
Sugar
Apricot jam
Dark Rum (but I'm not sure on that one yet)

I'm off to the store...

The After:

Well I'm glad to report the tart really wasn't that hard to make. I went as simple as simple could be - With a pre-made pie crust the only real work was processing the apples. It was edible but there's really no way you could make this that it wouldn't be. I was hoping it would be better looking but I'm not done working on mastering this.

What you will need

1 Ready-made pie crust
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced thin
3 Tb sugar
1/2 Cup apricot jam

Spray a sheet pan with some non-stick spray. Put down your pie crust. Take a fork and poke some holes in the pie crust about every 1-3 inches. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar on the bottom of the crust. Add your apples leaving a 1 inch or so border - fan them out and make them look pretty. Roll the border of the crust over the rest of the pie. Will be a bit rustic looking but that's a good thing. Wet with a touch of water and sprinkle the rest of the sugar over the edges and on top of the apples. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes then move to a rack to cool. Put the apricot jam in a small pan and bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes - you can strain the mixture but I really don't see the need to (some might argue here). Using a pastry brush, put the jam over the crust and apples - you don't have to use it all just make it look all shiny and pretty...


The Next:

My next attempt will be made with a homemade pie crust (which is really easy to do) - I think this will take the tart to a new level. I'm also going to do something to with the apricot glaze. I think this time I might use a spot of the dark rum and before putting it on the tart I'm going to run it through a fine mesh strainer...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

--

6 comments:

  1. Yum. The apricot jam sounds like a great addition to the apples. Looks good. I found your blog from the link on the foobuzz widget.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Spryte - Thank you very much! It was fun to make and I'm looking forward to the next one...

    Lisa - Well from what I had read before I made it the apricot jam is more for looks than anything else. I think it did add some flavor. Thanks for letting me know how you found me!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the video! I found you through the foodieblogroll and your videos make it easy to follow this recipe, however you should have a warning here too...your video it sure makes me hungry :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. LOL thanks Alisa! I'm glad you liked it but I'm sorry for making you hungry... Thanks for letting me know how you found me!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Again, you make it look so easy to make a nice desert! I love, love, love your peeler!

    And about Apricot Jam... It is wonderful on Salmon. I wash the fish, pat it dry, apply warm Apricot or Peach jam to the flesh and cook it for 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Perfect every time.

    ReplyDelete