Easy Apple Puff Pastry Tart

Every once in a while, I cheat. I don’t mean cheating on my beloved. That’s not happening. But shortcuts in the kitchen, now that’s the type of cheating I will do and feel good about. This Easy Apple Puff Pastry Tart is just the latest in my forays into shortcuts that definitely work.

It would make a great Thanksgiving dessert. An untraditional alternative to apple pie, with filling that’s less sweet and gooey. Plus the outside has more crunch and it’s much easier to cut. An elegant winner that is sure to wow your family and friends. 

Occasionally, I use a boxed cake mix. (My poppy seed cake is a family favorite, even though it starts with Duncan Hines.) And I’m not above buying pomegranate seeds in a ready-to-use  package.

But my favorite shortcut is store-bought puff pastry. I’ve already done Puff Pastry Potato Roses and Chocolate Marzipan Tarte Soleil, not to mention Apple and Honey (single serve) Tarts and Roasted Red Grape and Rosemary Tart. Now, with apple season in full swing, I’m all about this simple tart that is easy to put together but is oh so elegant. 

The inspiration for this tart is the apple cinnamon slab pie on Natasha’s Kitchen. I borrowed the concept of using puff pastry for a long, strudel-like pastry. My version diverges a bit in the filling and technique. Plus my directions are a bit more specific. 

The recipe has a few steps and a bunch of equipment listed. But don’t be put off. It’s really easy and looks elegant when done. 

The Ingredients and How to Make this Recipe Vegan 

My ingredients are mostly the same. But I’ve upped the amount of apples, added cardamom (preferably roasted) in the filling, and cut down on the butter. You can use any apples that work for pie. I prefer a combination and generally use at least one Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. 

This is not an ad for Trader Joe’s, though I do love the store’s puff pastry. (Note that the store only seems to carry it during the fall and early winter.  I often stock up and freeze several boxes.) My second choice after Trader Joe’s is Dufour, which is lovely but expensive. Pepperidge Farm puff pastry is widely available, but not as good IMHO because it uses oil rather than butter. That being said, Pepperidge Farm puff pastry is vegan.

The flour is not really an ingredient. Use it to keep the dough from sticking to your mat or counter as you create the tart. 

Plus, I’ve played with the basic recipe and found some excellent variations.If you’re into ginger, as I am, adding chopped crystallized ginger is a nice touch. You can even add fresh cranberries and slivered almonds. 

Although it’s not essential to the finished product, for the topping I like to mix sparkling (coarse) sugar, which is pure white, with brown Demerara sugar. 

The egg is not really an ingredient. It simply “glues” the top of the tart to the bottom and glazes the top so the sugars stay on. 

Steps in Making the Easy Apple Puff Pastry Tart

The exact shape does not matter, but I do roll the pastry out to a larger rectangle than Natasha does. Mine is generally about 10 & 1/2 inches x 13 inches (27 cm x 33 cm.) And I don’t fuss to much about the exact size or the edges. 

After peeling the apples, core and slice them. 

The filling is simple. First, melt the butter. Then add the apple slices and cook them for a short time. Next add the brown sugar and spices, cooking the mixture until the slices soften and brown.

After placing the cooked apple slices on the bottom piece of dough, brush egg on the edges. Then add the top and press down the sides. (I do that latter step with a the tines of a fork.) Finally, brush the top with egg and sprinkle the sugar. Then make a few slits in the top – as you would for a two crust pie  – and bake. 

Tips for Making an Easy Apple Puff Pastry Tart 

• Apple slices.  Make them thin and chill the cooked slices to make it easier to pile them in a line down the center of the tart. Don’t worry if they begin to brown before you cook them, as they will brown during the cooking process. If they render a lot of juice during cooking, don’t use all of it when you put the apples onto the dough. Keeping too much liquid with the apples will just leak out during baking. You can hold some back and drizzle part or all of it into the tart after baking through the slits. 
• Working with puff pastry dough. Keep it cool. If your room is warm or the dough seems too warm, refrigerate the part you are not using at the moment. (I refrigerate the top while I’m working with the bottom one.) Also, cutting the top slightly larger than the bottom allows the top to hang over the apples and still meet the edge of the bottom piece.
• Closing the tart. I use the tines of a fork to press the top and bottom together. You can do that, or fold the edges, or some combination. Whatever you do, the goal is to seal the edges tightly, so the inside does not seep out. 

Make this Tart into Vegan Easy Apple Puff Pastry Tart

You can make this tart vegan with 3 easy changes in the recipe:

• Use vegan-friendly puff pastry. In other words, use puff pastry that does not contain dairy (butter),  e.g., Pepperidge Farm.
• Substitute vegan “butter” for dairy butter. When baking for vegans I prefer to use Miyoko’s, but check out this list for other brands. 
• Use a plant-based alternative to egg for painting the bottom edges and glazing/”egg washing” the top. For a vegan version, I would probably use a neutral oil (not olive), perhaps mixed with a bit of plant-based milk.