Tarte aux pommes et à l'amande / Apple Tart with Almond Cream

We were invited to a potluck dinner party this past weekend, and Thomas had volunteered us to bring dessert.  I never pass up a chance to bake (my eyes get wide like saucers with excitement) and this dinner had presented me with the perfect, long-awaited opportunity to make this apple tart, published in Food & Wine magazine in 2009.  They have also published it on their website.

The resulting tart has a rich almond cake filling counter-balanced with the sweet-tart apples layered on the top.  The "almond cream" part of the name of this dessert is a bit misleading, since the filling turns from a cream to a fluffy cake as it bakes.  Although it seems small when made, please remember that it is quite rich, and therefore should be served in slender slices. 

As someone who appreciates presentation as much as flavor, I was really pleased with how beautifully this tart baked.  The edges of the apple sliced colored into a nice golden brown, and the filling oozed between the slices in a gracefully.

I won't re-print the recipe here, since it is already available on F&W's website.  However, here are some notes of mine for this recipe:

• If you have never made a crust from scratch, don't be intimidated to do so!  It is a fairly simple process, and all you have to watch out for is overworking the dough (which means, mixing and kneading it too much).  Once the dough becomes a homogenized mixture, that is when you can stop. 
• If you do make the dough from scratch, a common dilemma for me is transferring the rolled dough from the work surface to the tart pan.  To do this, first, I find it best to roll the dough on a large piece of parchment paper or a Silpat mat that will accommodate the size you are trying to roll to.  Once rolled out, place your rolling pin in the middle of the dough circle, and drape the bottom half of the dough circle over the rolling pin.  If you find that your dough is too soft and is stretching as you do this, put the dough in the refrigerator for a minute (this is where the parchment paper comes in handy) to firm the dough a bit, and try again.  Once you get it draped, use the rolling pin to lift the dough and drape over the tart pan.
• If you do not have a food processor (as I do not), you can grind slivered almonds in a mortar and pestle, or you can purchase pre-ground nuts (I used a half-and-half mixture of both).
• The recipe calls for dark rum, but I used white rum, and it still turned out well.
• I used large Granny Smith apples, instead of Golden Delicious.  Both hold well during baking.
• To cut the apples in thin slices, I used a manual device that Thomas's parents gave us as a gift - it peels, cores and slices the apple all at once (the thin green peel you see in the middle of the tart is me using the apple peel as a garnish).  However, this is easily accomplished by hand.  Peel and core the apple.  Slice the top and the bottom so that it is straight.  Cut the apple in half length-wise.  Place one apple half core side down and facing a west-east direction, and slice the apple thinly.  I find this  method of cutting the apple horizontally easier for cutting even slices for tarts as opposed to slicing vertically.  
• In hindsight, I would have packed the apples tighter in a ring, so that there is greater apple-to-filling ratio for the tart.  In the end, I only used about two apples, instead of the three called in the recipe.
• I used about half of the brown sugar called in the recipe.  I did not want to tart to be cloying, and I knew that the sugar was really more to help brown the apples.  I still think about 1/8 cup of brown sugar is a better idea.

Photo is courtesy of Thomas!