Come autumn, I do enjoy the Jenga-style game of stacking apple slices into a pie dish ensuring every bite of pie will be loaded with fruit but I am equally fond of the simplicity of overlapping slices for a beautiful fanned apple tart.
The pastry cream was very thick and I used flour as the thickener. When I piped it onto the crust I ran out about 3/4 of the way through so I ended up spread it out with an offset spatula which was fine for the purpose of propping up the apples.
The fanning technique was different than what I have done previously in that the slices are propped upright on the pastry cream filling. It was by far my favorite step in preparing the recipe. Each slice is placed standing up, overlapping a third and lined up length-wise across the tart. Then I continued to add more rows of apples till the whole tart was filled. I used four medium-sized apples- Granny Smith and Pink Lady.
A top view of the completed tart. I love how the layers look.
Here is a side view of the apple slices standing upright. The color variation is because of the two types of apples. I tried alternating each row.
Once the tart bakes, the slices fall to about a 45 degree angle, not all the way flat like I’ve typically seen.
I’ve never used a recipe where the pastry cream was baked. I found it to be a bit dry after being in the oven. The apples were tender and the brown sugar butter glaze I put on top flavored them nicely but was absorbed in the baking process so the apples didn’t have much shine after. I’d brush on a bit more of the brown sugar butter for a prettier finish. I served the tart with some homemade creme fraiche ice cream so it was perfect with that but on it’s own it was just a bit dry for me.
Week 31 of the Bouchon Bakery Book Project
Read the Project recap on the Apple Band Tart
Bake with us!
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