Simple Apple Tart

This is the very first blog post coming from a group of 6 college students trying to convince a board of professors that we deserve (what our school calls) a special interest house. None of us has blogged before, but we do all share a passion for cooking and eating locally. So please stay with us while we try to get all of the kinks worked out. We truly hope that you share our passions, or at least are inspired by the delicious foods. If it is possible for college kids who are currently cooking out of a dorm room, then it must be possible for you. 

This simple apple tart was easy to make and surprisingly beautiful considering the small dorm kitchen that we  have to bake in. It used about two pounds of Northern Spy Apples obtained from the local farmers market the day before!

We went to the farmers market with no plan, merely hoping to be inspired by something local, and lo and behold we found fresh apples tucked among the wreaths and decorations! The perfect ingredients for this super simple apple tart. 

Alice Waters’s Apple Tart
Source: Smitten Kitchen 

Dough: 
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, just softened, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
3 1/2 tablespoons chilled water

Filling: 
2 pounds apples (We used Northern Spies!), peeled, cored (save peels and cores in a separate bowl), and sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 tablespoons sugar

Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

MIX flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl; add 2 tablespoons of the butter. Mix until dough resembles coarse cornmeal. Add remaining butter, and mix until biggest pieces look like large peas. This would probably have been easier if we had a mixer, but it does work with the meager utensils that are scrounged from a mix of dorm rooms. 

DRIBBLE in water, stir, then dribble in more, until dough just holds together. Toss with hands, letting it fall through fingers, until it’s ropy with some dry patches. If dry patches predominate, add another tablespoon water. Keep tossing until you can roll dough into a ball. Flatten into a 4-inch-thick disk; refrigerate. Or in our case, cover and stick it outside (it was pretty chilly and we didn't have access to a fridge). 

After at least 30 minutes, remove; let soften so it’s malleable but still cold. Heat oven to 400°F.  Smooth cracks at edges. On a lightly floured surface (or a cookie sheet if the table grosses you out a little, as communal furniture generally does) , roll into a 14-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. We did not have a rolling pin, but a half filled metal water bottle worked great! Dust excess flour from both sides with a dry pastry brush (or your hands). 

PLACE dough in a lightly greased 9-inch round tart pan, or simply on a parchment-lined baking sheet if you wish to go free-form, or galette-style with it. 

OVERLAP apples on dough in a ring 2 inches from edge if going galette-style, or up to the sides if using the tart pan. Continue inward until you reach the center. Fold any dough hanging over pan back onto itself; crimp edges at 1-inch intervals. 

BRUSH melted butter over apples and onto dough edge. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over dough edge and the other 3 tablespoons over apples. This feels like a ton of sugar, it really does, but it also results in a beautiful effect after the tart is baked and it really helps to highlight the apples.

BAKE in center of oven until apples are soft, with browned edges, and crust has caramelized to a dark golden brown (about 45 minutes), making sure to rotate tart every 15 minutes. It takes a bit longer and is more important to remember to rotate if you are using a tiny little finicky communal stove in the residence halls. 

MAKE glaze: Put reserved peels and cores in a large saucepan, along with sugar. Pour in just enough water to cover; simmer for 25 minutes. Strain syrup through cheesecloth (we didn't have a cheesecloth so we tried to use a paper coffee filter and a steamer part of a double boiler kit...it didn't work, but we don't think that it made a difference).

REMOVE tart from oven, and slide off parchment onto cooling rack. Let cool at least 15 minutes.

BRUSH glaze over tart, slice, and serve.

I swear for the following half an hour we showed every single person who walked by this beautiful tart, and let me tell you, our kitchen is located in an entrance/exit to a residence hall and there were tons of people walking through. Sadly, we just got to stare longingly at the beautiful creation before we packed it up and sent to a dear boss who had lost a loved one. We are proud to report that it was very well received though!

We hope to prove to you that you don't need a state of art kitchen to make beautiful and tasty food, you don't even need fancy equipment. It just helps to have fresh, local, and healthy foods as well as a a passion for good food.