This year I hosted Thanksgiving for the first time and kept the menu traditional: turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, and apple pie. My centerpiece was a salted apple cider caramel pie with a herringbone lattice crust. It looked beautiful and guests complimented it, but honestly I wasn’t completely satisfied with the result.
A few days after Thanksgiving I found more apples in the crisper and decided to make a second dessert. It ended up being more of a tart than a pie—somewhere between a tart and a galette—and it came together much faster than my fancy lattice pie. The base was a flaky all-butter crust, topped with a honey-almond frangipane, layered rainbow apple slices, and a dusting of cardamom sugar. The flavor and texture were wonderful, and I immediately wished I had made it for the holiday table.
I call this a “rustic tart” because it bakes in a tart pan for structure, but the dough is folded over the filling in the same relaxed way you would fold a galette. Use any crisp, flavorful apples you like—mixing varieties with different colored skins and arranging the slices from darkest to lightest creates a striking ombré or rainbow effect. For the crust I used an all-butter, really flaky pie dough, but any flaky single-crust recipe will work well.
Rustic Ombré Apple Tart with Honey Frangipane
A semi-free-form tart that layers honey-almond frangipane beneath a rainbow of apple slices and finishes with a sprinkle of cardamom sugar.
Dessert
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Ingredients
-
all-butter pie dough of your choice – enough for a single crust pie
(I used an all-butter, really flaky pie dough) -
56
g (1/2 stick)
unsalted butter
at room temperature -
35
g
honey -
25
g
sugar -
a pinch
salt -
1
large egg
lightly beaten -
60
g
blanched almond flour -
5–6
large apples
To finish:
-
1
tbsp
granulated sugar -
large pinch
ground cardamom
(preferably freshly ground) -
1
egg
lightly beaten
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
-
Mix the tablespoon of granulated sugar with the ground cardamom in a small bowl; set aside.
-
On a lightly floured sheet of parchment, roll the pie dough into an 11-inch square. Use the parchment to lift and transfer the dough into a 9-inch square tart pan, allowing it to overhang the edges by about 1/2 inch. Chill the lined pan while you prepare the filling.
-
In a medium bowl, cream the room-temperature butter, pinch of salt, 25 g sugar, and honey with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the almond flour and the lightly beaten egg, alternating between the two until fully combined into a smooth frangipane.
-
Halve and core the apples, then slice the halves thinly. You can slice lengthwise or crosswise—aim for pieces about 2.5 to 2.75 inches long so they layer neatly.
-
Remove the tart pan from the refrigerator and spread the honey-almond frangipane into an even layer across the bottom. Arrange the apple slices in tightly packed rows on top of the frangipane. For an ombré effect, start with apples that have the darkest skins and work toward the lightest.
-
Fold the dough over the outer edge of the apples to create a rustic rim, then brush the exposed dough with the lightly beaten egg.
-
Evenly sprinkle the cardamom-sugar mixture over the apple surface and the crust if you like.
-
If you have time, freeze the tart for 5 minutes to help it hold its shape; otherwise bake immediately.
-
Bake at 400°F for 50–60 minutes, until the frangipane is puffed and golden and the crust has a deep, even color.
-
Let the tart cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing. The filling-to-crust ratio is high, so cooling will help the tart set and make it easier to unmold and serve.
Recipe Notes
- For the crust I used a half batch of an all-butter, really flaky pie dough—enough for a single crust—but use whichever single-crust recipe you prefer. Be sure the dough is well chilled for at least 2 hours before rolling.
- To crisp the bottom crust, bake the tart on a lower oven rack or set the tart pan on a preheated pizza stone or an upside-down sheet pan.
- The simplest way to slice apples for this tart is to cut the fruit lengthwise on either side of the core, then slice those pieces thinly. If you prefer, halve the apples and core each half before slicing.
- Allow the tart to cool completely before removing it from the pan—the high filling ratio and delicate crust benefit from a full cool-down.
- If you don’t have a square tart pan, a 9-inch round pan will work, though the apple arrangement will need to be adjusted. You can also make this as a free-form galette on a parchment-lined baking sheet; for a galette use fewer apples and leave a 1.5–2 inch unfilled border to fold over the fruit.
