Apples Dressed Up

By simply changing the form of an apple pie you can also change the way it is perceived when it is brought to the table.  This classy rectangle of pastry and apples looks so much more dressed up than a pie.  Not really sure why that it, maybe it's the the fluted edges I trimmed with my ravioli cutter, or the sheen from the glaze that is made using the skin and cores of the apples. I particularly like this trick as it makes use of something that you would typically just discard.  Use tart green apples like Crispin or Granny Smith.

Apple Tart

Make a basic pie dough - I used my galette dough adding 2 Tablespoons of sugar (from the 1/2 teaspoon called for in the original recipe).

Preheat the oven to 375 F

After the dough has been chilled at least for 30 minutes or as much as over night.  Split it in half, reserving one half for another use and rolling the other half out into a large rectangle on a sheet of parchment paper (I use a cookie sheet as my guide and make it so that the pastry will fit inside the sheet easily).  Don't get too stressed about the edges, use a knife or a fluted ravioli roller or what ever you want to trim the edges and even the whole affair out.) Once you have it trimmed just pick up the ends of the parchment paper and place on the cookie sheet.  Put it in the freezer.

Peel , core and slice 4-5 tart apples, placing the cores and peel in a heavy bottomed saucepan.

Add 1 cup or water and 1 cup of sugar to the pan and bring to a simmer, cook until thickened - remove from heat strain through a fine sieve discarding the solids and place the syrup back into the pan.  You may need to reheat it to thin it when the time comes to brush it on the tart.

Slice the apples thinly so that can be fanned out onto the chilled dough.

Sprinkle about 1/3 cup of sugar over the apples and place in the oven. Bake for about 35-45 minutes, the pastry should be browned and the apples soft.

Remove from oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes.  With a pastry brush spread the glaze evenly over the apples.  Serve with unsweetened whip cream, or add a splash of Calvados.  I served my with Calvados Ice Cream I had made for another reason.  Calvados Ice Cream is just basic Vanilla with 2 Tablespoons of Calvados instead of adding any Vanilla Extract (I did use 1 Vanilla bean).

A simple, delicious, seasonal sweet that is a nice variation on the traditional apple pie.