Apple Time!
When you come to my house for dinner, you can bet, you’ll be served dessert! Most of the time however, no one wants anything too sweet or heavy. For a perfect, and Just right bite, try a Rustic Apple Tart with Pomegranate Seeds. The pastry is light and crisp and buttery and the apples are just so barely sweet. The bite of the pomegranate seeds gives a tart punch and a fresh and slightly bitter crunch. This one fits all the requirements – easy to make, looks great and tastes so good.
This tart features fall’s most fabulous gift, apples 🍎!
They’re already pretty sweet just as nature made them, so no fuss required. A sprinkling of fresh pomegranate seeds gives a pretty pop of flavor and color too.
I like to make apple pie because I think they look beautiful and they always smell amazing. I like to pile the apples super high, then top with the pastry. For a lighter bite, try this twist on the typical apple pie. By the way, it’s so much easier to make too. Making a rustic tart pastry means perfection is not necessary and so over rated! It’s a great go-to for people like me who have trouble making their crusts look picture perfect. Oh, and the crust is just sooo, sooo, very good!
Rust Apple Tart with Pomegranate Seeds
Prepare the pastry
Into the bowl of your food processes, add 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. Add 3/4 cups of very cold, cubed butter.
Pulse the mixture in a food until it resembles coarse meal with some slightly large pieces. Slowly add 4 Tbs. of the ice water and pulse again until a shaggy dough forms. If the dough is too dry, add a bit more water but stop before the dough gets too wet. It should just hold together when squeezed.
Gather the dough into a rough ball with your hands. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and flatten it into a 6-inch square. Refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Preheat the oven to 400°
On a lightly floured, large piece of parchment paper, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to a 1/4-inch-thick square (about 12 inches square). Transfer the dough, still on the parchment, to a rimmed baking sheet. Freeze for 10 minutes. While it’s freezing, prepare filling.
For the Rustic Apple Tart Filling
In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom and mix well. Peel, core and slice the apples and put them into a large bowl. This recipe only uses 3, maybe 4 apples, depending on the size, so it’s no great effort in peeling! Carefully toss the apples in the sugar.
Overlap the slices in neat rows on top of the pastry, leaving a 1/4-inch border on all 4 sides. Sprinkle evenly with any remaining cardamom sugar and dot the top with 1 tablespoon of butter.
Bake until the crust is deep golden brown and the fruit is tender, 35-40 minutes.
As soon as you remove the tart from the oven, run a flat spatula around the edges to loosen it from any caramelized sugar on the pan and remove the parchment. Gently move to a serving platter. The parchment will pull right away. Brush the warm tart with the strained apricot jam. Top with a few tablespoons of fresh pomegranate seeds.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 5 to 6 Tablespoons ice water
For the Apple Filling
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
- 4 small, crisp apples, peeled, cored, halved, and very thinly sliced
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/4 cup apricot jam, warmed and strained
- 3 tablespoons fresh pomegranate seeds (optional)
Instructions
For the pastry
- Into the bowl of your food processes, add the flour, sugar, and salt.
- Add the cold butter and pulse the mixture in a food until it resembles coarse meal with some slightly large pieces.
- Slowly add 4 Tbs. of the ice water and pulse again until a shaggy dough forms.
- Add up to 2 more Tablespoons of water but stop before the dough gets too wet.
- It should just hold together when squeezed.
- Gather the dough into a rough ball with your hands.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and flatten it into a 6-inch square.
- Refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- On a lightly floured, large piece of parchment paper, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to a 1/4-inch-thick square (about 12 inches square).
- Transfer the dough, on its parchment, to a rimmed baking sheet. Freeze for 10 minutes.
For the Apple Filling
- In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom and mix well.
- Peel, core and slice the apples and put them into the sugar mixture, coating well.
- Overlap the slices in neat rows on top of the pastry, leaving a 1/4-inch border on all 4 sides. Sprinkle evenly with any remaining cardamom sugar and dot the top with 1 tablespoon of butter.
- Bake until the crust is deep golden brown and the fruit is tender, 35-40 minutes.
- As soon as you remove the tart from the oven, run a flat spatula around the edges to loosen it from any caramelized sugar on the pan and remove the parchment, gently move to a serving platter. The parchment will pull right away.
- Brush the warm tart with the strained apricot jam.
- Top with fresh pomegranate seeds.
Serve the tart at room temperature
Enjoy
Karen Harris
- https://www.bittersaltysoursweet.com
