French Apple Tart
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This apple tart recipe skips the tart pan altogether—the apples are piled onto the pastry and the edges simply folded up around them for a beautifully rustic dessert.
This apple tart recipe is essentially a free-form pie, with thinly sliced apples tossed with sugar and cinnamon and arranged on a buttery, flaky homemade crust. It’s every bit as delicious as a traditional apple pie but easier to assemble, and the rustic shape is part of its charm.
And don’t be intimidated by the homemade pastry—it comes together easily in the food processor, and because the tart is meant to look rustic, there’s no need to fuss over perfectly shaped edges. Bake it until the crust is golden and the apples are tender, then serve it warm or at room temperature, with vanilla ice cream if you like.
“I have made this at least 10 times and it turns out perfectly. I like to make a day or two ahead and freeze. Perfect dessert for company—I pop it in the oven when we start eating dinner and it’s done by the time we’re finished.”
What you’ll need to make a french apple tart
- All-purpose flour: Forms the base of the crust and provides structure to the dough and tart.
- Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness to the crust and filling, balancing the tartness of the apples.
- Butter: Makes the crust rich and flaky while also adding flavor to the filling.
- Baking apples: Use varieties like Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Fuji, Granny Smith, or Golden Delicious—and use a mix of different apples for the best flavor. Heads up: it can be tempting to load up the tart with extra apples, but less is more here—the apples release quite a bit of juice, which can leak from the tart and make a mess of the crust and your oven.
- Vanilla extract & Cinnamon: Adds warmth and enhances the sweetness in the apple filling.
- Egg: Brushed onto the crust for a golden, glossy finish.
- Turbinado sugar: Sprinkled on the crust and apples for added sweetness and a crunchy texture.
- Apricot jelly or jam (optional): Used to glaze the apples, giving them a glossy finish and adding a subtle fruit flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How to Make French Apple Tart
Make the pastry dough: In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt, and sugar to combine. Add the cold butter and pulse until the pieces are about the size of peas. Add the ice water and pulse just until the dough looks moistened and crumbly.
Form and chill the dough: Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a few times, just until it comes together. Shape it into a disk, roll it into a rough circle, and transfer it to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate while you make the filling.
Make the apple filling: Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. Toss with the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, melted butter, and salt until evenly coated.
Assemble the tart: Roll the dough into a large circle directly on the parchment. Sprinkle with flour, then arrange the apples in overlapping circles, leaving a wide border around the edge. Fold the pastry over the apples, brush the crust with beaten egg, and sprinkle the tart with turbinado sugar. Chill while the oven preheats.
Bake and finish: Bake until the apples are tender and the crust is golden and cooked through. Let the tart cool, then brush the apples with the optional apricot glaze for a glossy finish. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.
Video Tutorial
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French Apple Tart
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) very cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-in (13-mm) pieces
- ¼ cup very cold water
For the Filling
- 1¾ lbs baking apples (3 large) (see note)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For Assembling & Baking
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
- 1 tablespoon apricot jelly or jam (optional), for glaze
Instructions
- Make the crust: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse briefly to combine. Add the cold butter and process just until the butter is the size of peas, about 5 seconds. Sprinkle the ice water over the mixture and process just until moistened and very crumbly, about 5 seconds. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times, just until it comes together into a cohesive ball. Pat the dough into a disk. Flour your work surface again and dust the dough with flour, as well. Using a rolling pin, roll into a circle 8 to 10 in (20 to 25 cm) in diameter, turning and adding more flour as necessary so the dough doesn’t stick. Transfer the dough to the parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate while you prepare the filling (you’ll roll the dough out further on the parchment paper, so go ahead and clean your work surface).
- Make the Filling: Peel, core, and cut the apples into ⅛-in (3-mm) thick slices (you should have about 4 cups) and place in a large bowl. Add the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, melted butter, and salt; toss to combine.
- Take the dough from the fridge and slide the parchment paper onto the countertop. Roll the dough, directly on the parchment paper, into a 14-in (36-cm) circle about ⅛-in (3-mm) thick. It’s fine if the edges are a little ragged. Place the parchment and dough back on the baking sheet—the pastry should curve up the lip of the pan.
- Assemble the tart: Sprinkle the flour evenly over the pastry. Arrange the apple slices on top in overlapping concentric circles to within 3 in (7.5 cm) of the edge. Don’t worry about making it look perfect! It doesn’t make much difference in the end, and you don’t want the dough to get too warm. Fold the edges of the dough over the apples in a free-form fashion, working your way around and creating pleats as you go. Patch up any tears by pinching a bit of dough from the edge.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the pleated dough evenly with the beaten egg. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the turbinado sugar over the top crust and 1 tablespoon over the fruit. Chill the assembled tart in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the center position.
- Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the crust is golden and cooked through. (It’s okay if some of the juices leak from the tart onto the pan. The juices will burn on the pan but the tart should be fine—just scrape any burnt bits away from the tart once it’s baked.) Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool.
- While the tart cools, make the optional glaze. In a small bowl, mix the apricot jam with 1½ teaspoons water. Heat in the microwave until bubbling, about 20 seconds. Using a pastry brush, brush the apples with the apricot syrup.
- Use two large spatulas to transfer the tart to a serving plate or cutting board. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature. The tart is best served on the day it is made, but leftovers will keep, loosely covered on the countertop, for a few days.
Notes
- Be sure to use baking apples that hold their shape when cooked, such as Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Fuji, Granny Smith, or Golden Delicious. And use a mix of different varietals for the best flavor.
- Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions: The dough can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated. Allow it to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes or until pliable before rolling. The assembled tart may be frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze, place the baking sheet in the freezer until the tart is frozen, then wrap tightly. (Wait until right before baking the tart to brush the beaten egg and sprinkle the sugar onto the crust.) Bake directly from the freezer. (It may take a few extra minutes to bake from frozen.)
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Made the Rustic French Tart for dinner which was served with lovely French press coffee. Coq au Vin was the main dish and served it with a multigrain, crusty bread and a Bordeaux wine. Both dishes were marvelous! It was about 3 hours of cooking but totally worth it!
This was delicious! I used the apples we’d frozen from the summer season, and made the pastry by hand…home made, hand made.
Made the tart exactly how it was written. Came out beautifully. However, it seems pretty bland to me. Kinda boring.
I made this tart. It is both delicious and beautiful. Something you will be proud to serve. Also, I love the artistic feel of assembling the tart. Just lovely in every way.
This is absolutely amazing, even with the modifications I made:
– 2 large Fuji apples
– 1/4 cup of sugar for the filling
– No sugar for glaze
– No jam at the end
– Bake for 45 minutes (that’s when it was golden brown)
No juices were leaking out for me, probably because I used fewer apples.
This recipe is the BEST. My whole family adores it. It comes together so easily. Now I’ve started to branch out with berries, etc., (whatever’s on hand) and it always turns out beautifully.
OMG Jennifer!! This is an incredibly delicious tart! The crust is SO easy (especially with the aid of the parchment paper), and it’s probably the absolute very best tasting crust I have ever made….so buttery and delicious! I pretty much followed the recipe exactly…with the exception of adding slightly less sugar to the apple filling mixture. I use Golden Delicious apples because they don’t release too much moisture and are already inherently sweet. I am an experienced cook and baker, but I found doing the concentric circle thing with the Apple slices was tedious and most likely unnecessary. I worked pretty fast but the dough still seemed to warm ip a bit too much in trying to accomplish this. It ended up making it much more difficult to fold the dough up and over. I would suggest…especially to novice cooks, to simply mound the apples in the center of the dough and gently pat them out evenly to within the 3”as stated.
These are just a couple little personal tweaks to an AWESOME dessert. Thank you SO much for sharing this easy and incredibly delicious dessert. This will definitely go in my ‘Best Desserts’ recipe box. Yum!
I just made this tart for our New Years dessert. Absolutely delicious!!!! Tastes like a dessert from a restaurant. I plan to make it again next week when I host 19 women for lunch. Looking forward to receiving your book. Most of menu consists of your recipes. Lynn
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Absolutely delicious! Will make again and again. ………family loved it (Especially with a dollop of whipped cream). Should have sent you a photo, by the time I thought of it, it was all gone!!!
It’s in the oven now, and too many juices spilling out. Will it be ok? 25 minutes more to bake. Help. I followed your instructions exactly.
Hi Nancy, It’s normal for some of the juices to leak out. How did the tart turn out?
It’ not as bad as I thought. I did go in a few times and soaked up the excess with paper towels. The bottom might be soggy, but it looks delious. Will see what the family thinks tonite. Thank you for getting back so quick. Merry Christmas!
Do you think this would be okay to bake with a removable tart pan rather than the free hand rustic look? Just wondering if the cooking time would change, I have a different extra pie crust I made from a previous recipe and I’ve been wanting to try out my tart pan but I’m struggling to find a recipe I like!
Sure, Cass, that should work. Hope you enjoy!