rustic apple tart

The best dessert I’ve ever eaten was a simple, rustic apple tart that Jacques Pepin made in a demo when I was in culinary school. He assembled it a few minutes as he spoke to a room full of pastry students. I couldn’t believe how delicious the result was; it was definitely a reminder that the simplest things are usually the best.

This is my take on that tart. It is barely sweet, so perfect for those who don’t like sweet desserts. It is very quick to make, but best served immediately, so bake this just before dinner and enjoy it fresh from the oven with ice cream.

INGREDIENTS:

Dough ( makes two galettes)

8 oz ( 1 pack ) cream cheese , cold and cubed

8 oz ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

flour for rolling out dough

Filling for one galette

2-3 apples ( I like honeycrisp or pink lady)

1 lemon

2 -3 tablespoons sugar

powdered sugar and vanilla ice cream for serving

Equipment:

measuring spoons and cups

stand or hand mixer

rolling pin

peeler

knife

sheet pan lined with parchment

sifter

TIME:

making and chilling dough: 1.5 hours

assembling and baking galette: 1.5 hours

Servings: 6 per galette

TO MAKE:

TO MAKE THE DOUGH:

Cube 1 pack of cold cream cheese and 2 sticks cold butter and combine in the mixing bowl with 1 1/2 cups four. Mix with a stand or hand mixer until the dough just comes together. Form the dough into two equal disks and chill for at least one hour and up to 3 days. It can be frozen if you are not using it within a few days.

TO MAKE THE TART:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees convection/425 degree standard.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Lightly sprinkle your work surface with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Working quickly to keep the dough chilled , roll one disc out to a 12” circle. It should be fairly thin, about 1/8”. It does not have to be a perfect circle. Chill for at least 15 minutes,

Peel, core and thinly slice the apples. Sprinkle with the juice of one lemon. Remove the rolled dough from the refrigerator and arrange the apple slices in a pretty pattern around the dough, leaving a 1” border around the edge. Fold the edge and crimp using your fingers. Sprinkle the apples and the edge of the galette with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar.

Bake for about 30 minutes until the crust is brown and fully baked. Remove from the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes. Lightly sift with powdered sugar.

Serve slices immediately with vanilla ice cream.