Homemade puff pastry becomes...an apple tart

A beautiful, simple, and very easy apple tart. This is one of my all-time favorite desserts - especially for a family dinner, holiday, or dinner party - because it is so easy, but looks so fancy and beautiful! This time, I made my own homemade puff pastry, but you can also use store-bought (I think the Dufour brand is best).

gorgeous and delicious

look at those layers...beautiful!

The recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's and you can use store-bought puff pastry or homemade. I've made homemade puff pastry a few times recently, once for Thanksgiving and once to make pithiviers. You can see the step-by-step directions for my puff pastry dough here if you want to make your own...try it, it's fun!

Ingredients

1 sheet homemade puff pastry (approx. 1 pound), or use frozen store-bought, thawed
all-purpose flour, for rolling out the dough
1 egg, lightly beaten, for egg wash
1/2 c. homemade or good-quality, unsweetened, applesauce
2-3 apples, peeled and cut into thin slices (use Granny Smith or other firm, tart apples)
juice from 1/2 lemon (or as much is needed to prevent the apples from browning
2 t. unsalted butter, melted
2 t. sanding or turbinado sugar
2 t. apricot preserves
1 tablespoon water

Method
Roll out your puff pastry sheet to approximately 14x16 inches. Trim 1 inch off from each side and carefully set aside. Put the large sheet of puff pastry on a parchment paper lined sheet pan.

Using the egg wash, carefully brush the outer 1" edge of the large pastry and place the 1 inch strips on the edge. Press gently with your fingers to seal and create an outer crust. You'll need to trim the strip you cut from the short ends so it fits back onto the larger piece of dough. Be careful with the egg wash so you don't let any drip over the cut edge of the dough. If the egg drips over the side, it will seal together all of your lovely puff pastry layers when you bake the tart.

Using the tines of a fork, prick the middle part of the pastry all over so it won't rise during baking. Put the puff pastry into the fridge to chill while you prepare the apples.

my lovely sheet of homemade puff pastry

The ingredients for the apple filling...so simple!

mise en place for the filling

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees while you prepare the apples.

Peel and core your apples. Cut the apples into thin slices and toss with a bit of lemon juice to they do not discolor.

slice, toss with lemon juice...and done!

Remove your puff pastry from the refrigerator and spread the applesauce over the inner (pricked) area. It should be chilled and very firm at this point, so you can do this quickly and not worry about being super gentle.

spreading the applesauce over the chilled dough

Layer the apple slices over the applesauce in whatever pattern you like. For expediency's sake, I just layer them like this, slightly overlapping.

Brush the apples in the middle with the melted butter.

Brush the outer 1" crust strip with the egg wash. Again, be careful not to let the egg wash drip over the side edges or it won't puff properly.

Sprinkle the sanding sugar over the entire tart - the apples and the crust.

brushing the apples with melted butter

brush the outer crust with the egg wash,
then sprinkle the sanding sugar over the entire tart

Bake the tart at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, until the edge crust starts to puff up. Reduce the temperature to 375, rotate the pan from front to back, and bake for an additional 25 or so minutes until the crust is golden brown.

During the last 10 minutes of baking, prepare the apricot glaze. Heat the apricot preserves and tablespoon of water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring with a spoon or heat-proof spatula until they are completely combined and the mixture is hot. Remove from heat and set aside until the tart is done.

the baked tart

When the tart is done, gently remove to a cooling rack. You should be able to use the parchment paper to (gently!) lift the tart out of the sheet pan and onto the rack and then slide the parchment paper out from under.

Generously brush the apples with the apricot mixture.

Serve at room temperature with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or just enjoy plain.

so elegant...perfect for a party!

Bye for now...

How to make homemade puff pastry from scratch: a step-by-step

For Thanksgiving this year, I made one of my favorite desserts, an apple tart. As a twist though, I decided to make my own puff pastry. I've made my own croissants before (see this post for a step-by-step), and puff pastry is only 2 additional turns, so I knew I could do it!

I've realized that I really like making laminated doughs (layers of alternating butter and dough). Once you get the hang of it, they are not too difficult. You just need to be patient, precise, and work in a cool kitchen. If you have hot and humid summers, like me, don't even bother to make them when it's hot...this is definitely a winter project.

I used the puff pastry to make:
- apple turnovers
- an apple tart
- parmesan cheese twists
- pithiviers (an amazing French dessert of puff pastry filled with almond cream...yum!)

Look at how beautiful this dough is:

my finished dough

For the puff pastry, I used Julia Child's recipe from Baking with Julia, one of my favorite cookbooks, but I changed up the method a bit by adding some butter to the flour mixture. This was the method I learned in one of my baking classes at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts - add some butter to the flour mixture and mix the dough by hand on the countertop rather than in the mixer (as instructed in Julia Child's book).

Ingredients for puff pastry, courtesy of Julia Child:
2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c. cake flour
1 1/2 t. salt (note JC's recipe calls for 1 T. salt but I felt this was too much)
1 1/4 c. ice water
1 lb. (4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, divide and set aside 4 t. for the flour mixture, the rest goes into making the butter square.

Method:
Step 1, make the dough Sift together the flour and salt onto the countertop. Make a "well" in the center and add 4 t. of butter, cut into small pieces.

adding the butter

Using a bench scrapper - or your fingertips - cut the butter into the flour until it resembles cornmeal. If you use your fingers, work quickly so the heat of your fingers doesn't melt the butter. A good method for using your fingers is to gather flour in them as you bring them to the butter so you are incorporating fingers full of flour (into the butter) as you rub and smoosh the butter.

incorporating the butter with a bench scraper or your fingers

Add the water a few tablespoons at a time until the dough comes together. You should need all of the water, but stop as soon as it comes together.

adding the water, fluffing and combining as you go

When the dough has come together, gently gather it and press it into a 4" square. Dust lightly with flour and loosely wrap it in plastic wrap. Let it rest for 30 minutes (or longer) in the refrigerator.

formed into a square and ready for resting

Step 2, make the butter square You should have 3 1/2 sticks of cold butter remaining. Cut into pieces and place in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat the butter until it is completely smooth.

paddling the butter

Scrape your softened butter into plastic wrap. Using the plastic wrap to protect your hands, shape the butter into a 4" square. This is where you want to start being careful with measurements, so try to be pretty precise here. If the butter square is too soft, chill it until it has firmed up. You want the dough and butter square to be the same firmness so they will roll out easily together. If the butter is too soft, it will ooze out of the dough and ruin your layers.

scraping out the butter

my butter square, ready to be chilled

Let the butter chill for a while. Basically, you want the butter square and the dough to be the same firmness, so they will roll out together, smoothly and without tearing the dough.

getting ready to roll out the first two turns

Step 3, creating "le petit paquet" or incorporating the butter into the dough Roll out your dough to an approximate 10" square. You can make the four corners slightly thinner (since they will be coming together and overlapping in the middle) and leave the middle slightly thicker.

my 10" square of dough

Place the butter square in the middle, at a diagonal, as below.

the butter square goes on top

Then fold the four corners of the dough so they meet in the middle, pinching the edges of dough together so you seal the butter completely inside. After this step, I use the heel of my hand to gently push/flatten the packet a bit. I am trying to make sure the butter reaches the edges and is evenly dispersed inside (but don't push too hard as you don't want to the butter to leak out at all).

my sealed petit paquet

Step 4, the turns Now comes the fun part...rolling out the turns. You will roll the dough twice, then chill it (first two turns); then roll it out twice again (turns 3 and 4), then chill it; then roll it out twice more (turns 5 and 6), then it is ready to shape and use.

Lightly flour your surface and gently roll out the dough to a 12x24" rectangle. Flour sparingly, but use enough so the dough does not stick to either the countertop or the rolling pin. You will find you need less and less flour as you go, but you do not want the dough to stick or the butter will break through. If the dough tears and exposes the butter, pat some flour onto the butter spot and keep rolling.

I've flattened the packet out slightly to make sure the butter is
evenly dispersed inside

During the rolling, it is important to try to be precise and to try to keep the dough as rectangular as possible. I have a 24" ruler that I use for baking and it's perfect for rolling out the dough. I just set it on the countertop and keep rolling until my dough is as long as the ruler.

phew...done

24" exactly!

Now you are ready to make the first turn. Fold the dough into thirds, as you would a letter.

fold the top down and then the bottom up

voila, the first turn

Now, rotate the dough so the opening is on your right and the folded side is on your left, as below.

turned and ready to roll out again

Roll out the dough again, as you did before, to 12x24" and then fold into thirds again. This is your second turn completed. Now the dough needs a rest.

the second roll...24" check!

fold again into thirds

Wrap the dough losely, but completely in plastic wrap (you don't want any air to get in which will dry out the dough), set it on a cookie sheet pan and let it rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes.

ready to rest in the fridge

After the first rest, you will need 4 more turns. Repeat the above process (two turns), then rest the dough again for a minimum of 30 minutes.

After a total of 6 turns, your dough should be smooth, soft, and absolutely gorgeous. Look how pretty it is!

my finished dough

Now you are ready to roll out the dough and use it for delicious baking projects. The picture below is the dough measured out for my apple turnovers, which used 1/2 the dough. I used the other half of the dough to make an apple tart for Thanksgiving. The scraps are good for making cheese twists and/or palmiers.

For another batch of puff pastry I made a delicious dessert called pithiviers...so yummy! I made a second batch just a couple of weeks later, for Christmas...I have been a baking maniac the last two months.

measuring dough for apple turnovers and an apple tart

Bye for now...

Christmas eve & Christmas 2010

A few pictures from Christmastime, 2010. We had the family over for dinner on Christmas eve and then went to my brother and sister-in-law's for Christmas morning. My 4 year-old niece was so good and waited for all of us to get there at 10:00 before tearing into any presents. We were impressed!

My mom wanted an apple pie for Christmas, I was happy to oblige!

dotted with butter and ready for the top crust

before it goes into the oven, it's brushed with heavy cream (for browning) and sprinkled with
sanding sugar (to make it shimmer)

fresh out of the oven...yum!

also made twin apple tarts for dessert

Yippee, Christmas morning! Can't wait to dig into this amazing spread made by my sister-in-law!

delicious!

Merry Christmas

Bye for now...

Thanksgiving 2010 (My first post!)

This is so exciting...my first post! I'm backtracking a little, to post some pictures from thanksgiving and Christmas 2010, etc. and will then catch up with the present.

This was the first thanksgiving dinner I've cooked in several years and had a blast. Everyone also brought a dish, so I wasn't even too tired by the time it was actually time to sit down and eat.

I started with the cranberry sauce - it was delicious! Fresh cranberries, orange zest and juice and a few other ingredients. I could have eaten the entire bowl! The flavors would have made a delicious cocktail as well.

getting the ingredients ready

oranges zested and ready for juicing

on the stove, cooking away

Next came dessert, my favorite part of the meal! I made 4 different desserts: an apple tart, a pumpkin pie, a pecan pie and - my favorite - a sweet potato pie with caramelized pecans on top. I'd never made a sweet potato pie before and it was so much better than the pumpkin pie (which I've only ever made from canned pumpkin). The sweet potato pie was made from fresh sweet potatoes and I think that made such a difference in giving it a much more intense flavor and thicker, richer texture (than the pumpkin pie). Maybe next year I'll try a pumpkin pie made from fresh pumpkin.

pie crust fitted into the pie plate

edges fluted and ready to bake

pie crust "blind baked"

ingredients for the sweet potato pie

the apple tarts (with store bought puff pastry, this was super quick and easy)

Here are a couple of pictures of the dinner table and dessert table. Makes me want to do it all over again!

thanksgiving dinner for nine

the dessert table

Recipes (I will usually alter a recipe in some small way - more or less of something, add vanilla or lemon zest, etc. but here are a few of the "base" recipes that I used):
cranberry sauce - I highly recommend this recipe.
apple tart - highly recommended! Using the Dufour puff pastry, as recommended in the recipe (I found it at Whole Foods), this was super easy, fast and delicious. And the presentation can't be beat. I made it once as directed and twice I've cut the dough in half - the long way - and made two long tarts. I like the presentation of the long tart better than one large tart.
sweet potato pie with caramelized pecans - I highly recommend this one as well. It is absolutely delicious! My only complaint is that I couldn't get the topping to caramelize perfectly so it looked a little grainy...but it still tasted delicious.
cream biscuits - I have a good hand for pie crusts and scones but for some reason these came out super flat, almost like crackers...so I don't recommend this recipe even though I love Martha Stewart.

Bye for now...