French Apple Tart (Tarte aux Pommes)
Thin apple slices fanned in neat circles over a buttery pastry shell, baked until the edges caramelize, then brushed with warm apricot jam for a glossy, bakery-style finish.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Make the pastry
In a bowl, rub the cold butter into the flour, salt and sugar with your fingertips until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs — work quickly so the butter stays cold, which is what makes the pastry flaky. Mix in the egg yolk and just enough cold water to bring it together into a rough dough, without overworking it. Flatten into a disc, wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes and the pastry won't shrink in the oven.
- 200 g flour
- 100 g cold butter
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 tbsp cold water
✅ Done when: the dough holds together, feels smooth (not sticky) and is firm after chilling
Cook the apple compote
While the pastry chills, put the chopped apples, butter, sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook for about 10 minutes, mashing with a fork now and then, until you have a soft, fragrant purée. This thin layer under the fanned apples adds flavour and stops the baked pastry turning soggy.
- 2 apples
- 15 g butter
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp water
✅ Done when: the apples have collapsed into a soft, lump-free purée
Line the tart tin
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Fan the apples
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Bake until golden
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Glaze and serve
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Make the pastry
In a bowl, rub the cold butter into the flour, salt and sugar with your fingertips until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs — work quickly so the butter stays cold, which is what makes the pastry flaky. Mix in the egg yolk and just enough cold water to bring it together into a rough dough, without overworking it. Flatten into a disc, wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes and the pastry won't shrink in the oven.
- 200 g flour
- 100 g cold butter
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 tbsp cold water
✅ Done when: the dough holds together, feels smooth (not sticky) and is firm after chilling
Cook the apple compote
While the pastry chills, put the chopped apples, butter, sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook for about 10 minutes, mashing with a fork now and then, until you have a soft, fragrant purée. This thin layer under the fanned apples adds flavour and stops the baked pastry turning soggy.
- 2 apples
- 15 g butter
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp water
✅ Done when: the apples have collapsed into a soft, lump-free purée
Line the tart tin
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Fan the apples
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Bake until golden
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Glaze and serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Open-faced fruit tarts have been baked in France since medieval times, when orchard fruit was often set over simple short pastry in monastery and farmhouse kitchens. Apples, abundant across the country and especially in Normandy and the north, became one of the most common fillings, long before sugar and butter were widely affordable, this tart was already a way to make a little flour and fruit stretch into something special.
As French pâtisserie became more precise in the 19th and 20th centuries, home cooks and bakers refined the technique: thinner apple slices, neater fanned patterns, and the glossy apricot glaze that turned a rustic dessert into something fit for a bakery window. It remains one of the most-made tarts in French homes, simple enough for a weeknight and elegant enough for guests.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Its appeal lies in the contrast of textures and the honest, visible craft: crisp buttery pastry, soft apple, and a shiny glaze, made from ingredients nearly every French kitchen keeps on hand.
💡 Fun Fact
French bakers often judge a tarte aux pommes by the neatness of its apple fan — the tighter and more even the overlapping slices, the more it's considered the mark of a skilled hand.
France
48.86°N, 2.35°E
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