RUSTIC APPLE TART

Simple pleasures. This is what it's all about for me these days. When P, the kids, and I were on the road last year, slowness was our theme. Action and adventure does not describe our travel style - we had tons of family time and savored it deeply. I really believe the serenity of our time away added years back onto my life.

I am trying to figure out ways to integrate this attitude into our American lives. Lilah still finds great happiness in imaginary play and collecting twigs and flowers. Otis now goes to our local middle school and only gets in the car once in while.  Paul and I are trying to limit our commitments and spend lots of time at home enjoying our kids. Little things.

What does this have to do with food? In our family, where much of life revolves around eating, this means taking time to harvest blackberries and picking apples with friends on their bucolic land in West Sonoma County.

Rach and Justin invited a slew of us to spend the day with them. It was true Indian summer. The leaves had started falling, a bit of crispness cooled the air while still being warm enough for kids to swim, pluck juicy concord grapes from the vine, and pick apples... Life is good.




I like how uncomplicated this apple tart is - just apples on buttery pastry with a sprinkle of sugar. Simple pleasure. But I also enjoyed gussying this apple tart up a little bit with a drizzle with Homemade Caramel Sauce and voila .... Caramel Apple Tart, anyone?


INGREDIENTS adapted from David Tanis' Platter of Figs
(printable recipe)


Prepare your dough as per the instructions here. A couple of notes:

First, you only need half of the recipe for the pastry dough for this recipe. Have fun making a tart of your choice with the other half.

Second, please don't roll the dough too thin or the edges get pretty charred before the apples can cook all the way. (Tanis suggests rolling the dough into a 16x11 inch rectangle. I had more success when I made a thicker 11x6 inch oval of dough.)

Place the rolled out dough (on a parchment-lined baking sheet) into the fridge while you prep your apples.

Preheat oven to 375.

Peel and core apples and slice them thin. Take the prepared dough from the fridge. Lay the apples on the dough in long layered rows. ( If you aren't going to serve your tart until later, Tanis suggests covering the prepared tart in the fridge for up to 8 hours.)

Sprinkle Turbinado sugar over the apples and pastry. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the apples are tender.

We found the tart to be most delicious when served warm and drizzled with caramel sauce. When we ate the leftovers, we'd quickly warm up a slice in the oven before noshing.

Enjoy!


What else is cooking?


41 comments:

  1. That tart looks so tempting! A great fall treat.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Thanks Rosa! I am really loving all these fall goodies. A new season is always fun in the kitchen, right?
    -E

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  3. We just ate up the last of a big batch of caramel sauce last night - I finishing what was left in the bowl with apple slices, while my fella dug deep down in the jar with a spatula, his fingers, and all his might. I've never seen him so concentrated on anything sweet before.

    Lovely tart, it sounds amazing. Do the slices get at all dry during baking?

    Look at those amazingly-toned legs in the above photo, I'm stuck on those. Hah:)

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  4. That tart is simply beautiful! And it looks so yummy too

    http://chicgeekery.blogspot.com/

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  5. Emma, caramel sauce is such a dangerously good thing! I like your man's style - scraping the last bits from the jar. Good question about the apple... they didn't dry our much for me. And about those toned legs, I wish I could claim them as my own, but they belong to Rach;)

    Thanks Mal!

    -E

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  6. Great photography there! How do I subscribe to your blog? I don't want to receive e-mails :p

    Do you have facebook?

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  7. This looks delicious. Gorgeous shots of the apple picking too.

    So sweet of you to pick out my post, thank you.

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  8. Kelvin, thanks so much for the compliment! I don't do Facebook, but I think you could consider doing a feed subscription?

    Emma, Thanks! I hope you are well:)

    -E

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  9. These photos are gorgeous

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  10. This looks like such a wonderful family weekend. The tart looks delicious. We are back from Ireland and I'm dreaming of returning. Loved it! I so want to travel and roam this earth. Happy fall!

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  11. The caramel sauce would not be optional for me. Such a beautiful dessert and great pics.

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  12. Mags, thanks!

    Sarah, Welcome home! Your London pictures were great. I can only imagine how much fun you all had. Here's to roaming the earth:)

    Angela, I totally hear you on the caramel sauce thing:)

    -E

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  13. Oh my, that apple tart looks amazing!!!! And the caramel sauce would definitely not be optional for me. I love apples and caramel.

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  14. Thanks for your lovely, and heartfelt, comment on my recent post. This tart looks absolutely delicious, and who could say no to a smothering of incredible homemade caramel sauce. Your photos are beautiful too :-)

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  15. What a day we had! Thanks for the photos to help the memory bank. The tart, of course, was a bit of love on the plate.

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  16. Jennifer, Thanks. Caramel and apples just seem right this time of year. Childhood imprinting?

    thelittleloaf, :)

    P, It was a great day, wasn't it?

    -E

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  17. beautiful!
    life is good and it shows in your photographs!

    don't you just love simplicity of apple tart?

    and thank you for the link love :)

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  18. THANK YOU! I just got ahold of some lovely apples from Harry and David and thought I would make an apple pie...but this....it shall be done...caramel sauce included..yummo.

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  19. M, I do love the simplicity of an apple tart. After so many years in the kitchen, I realize that so many of my favorite things to eat are really simple to make too. A good combo;)

    Oli, totally my pleasure! Have a great weekend.

    -E

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  20. Lovely photos! Apples taste especially delicious this time of year; even more so in a gorgeous tart like this.

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  21. That looks like the perfect time. Such sweet photos. And an even sweeter way to enjoy them. ;)

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  22. Renee, thanks for stopping by. I see that you are thinking apples and caramel yourself;) I'd love to try out your recipe.

    Carolyn, it was such a great day in the country. It's amazing how a day trip out of the city can feel like a vacation. Have a great weekend!

    -E

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  23. Thank you for the continued support to remember to "GO SLOW." Going against the societal pressure to "Do Do Do," takes remembering that we do not have to live according to this "belief." I want to suspend judgement about myself that I am not good enough or accomplished enough,because I am not "Doing." That is what I love about your site. Take time for the simple and meaningful. Thank you E.

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  24. Anonymous, your comment made my day. I'm so touched. Thank you.

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  25. I do think the best apple tarts are rustic. I love how the sliced apples on your tart look like autumnal leaves.

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  26. The tart looks perfectly delicious. Love that rustic feeling about it. Apples and caramel are one of my all time favourite combos

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  27. So simple but so good! Great recipe, thanks for sharing!

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  28. What a scrumptious looking tart! Gorgeous shots too. That apple picking looks like fun.

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  29. Erin,
    This is just perfect. I find myself making apple and pear tarts nearly every weekend during the autumn. This weekend, I was fortunate to get a big bag of wild huckleberries and I helped my young niece to make her first gallette. Your photos are lovely- feel the late autumn sun like I'm right there with you.
    S

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  30. The Crystal sugar base looks define with those crunchy looking apple pieces!

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  31. Shaheen, autumnal leaves... what a flattering and poetic description!

    Dajana,thanks! I am such a fan of the caramel/apple combo too.

    Tine, thanks for stopping by:)

    Thanks Yo!

    Sabrina, Oooohhh wild huckleberries? I am so jealous. And what a sweet memory your niece will have of making her first galette with you!

    Julie, I do love that sparkly crunch of Turbinado sugar:)

    -E

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  32. What a perfect day! It's been years since I've picked an apple from a tree. Your tart looks lovely, and the caramel sauce sounds delightful with it.

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  33. That tart looks so amazing, I love the big grains of sugar on the crust. The last picture is especially tasty looking. I always forget about tarts like this when I'm baking which is a shame because I love eating them.

    By the way, Saveur Magazine featured my blog and I linked to your blog in the article as one of the blogs that I enjoy reading (because I do!) so that more people can come enjoy your recipes and stories and photos :) http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/Sites-We-Love-Clockwork-Lemon?cmpid=tw

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  34. Stephanie, Congrats to you on the Saveur feature! And that is SO so sweet of you to mention me. I do love reading your blog and always look forward to seeing what you are going to whip up next:)
    -E

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  35. I'd love to get a slic of your rustic pie, or tart or whatever it is that you are having. I loved reading your blog. Your pictures are amazing too! I know why your recipes turn out a blast, you include passion and love in the mixture. This is exactly the way our kids love how treats are served...Thanks for sharing!

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  36. A homemade rustic apple tart using apples that you pick yourself! Nothing can beat that.

    Beautiful photos as always Erin! The closeup one of the apples is especially gorgeous.

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So good to hear from you... I appreciate each and every note you leave for me!

Thanks,
E