Just desserts

(Image found at Helene's site)

Helene has a wonderful food blog with even more wonderful recipes and pictures. This is one of them!  For anyone who is gluten intolerant, this is one of the best places to go.  I'm not gluten intolerant and would substitute all purpose flour for the gluten free kinds.

Thin Apple Tart

 Serves 6 to 8 

 Ingredients:  

For the crust: 

2 tablespoons (20gr) slivered almonds 

1/2 (60gr) cup powdered sugar, unsifted, divided 

1/2 stick (57gr) unsalted butter, at room temperature 

pinch of salt 

3/4 cup (90gr) Jeanne's gluten free all-purpose flour mix 

1 egg yolk 

Directions: 

Place almonds and 1 tablespoon powdered sugar in a food processor. 

Pulse until the nuts are finely ground. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter, ground nuts and salt on medium speed until well-combined. 

Slowly add remaining powdered sugar and flour and mix well. Add the egg yolk and mix until incorporated. Shape dough into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours or overnight. Place the dough in between two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper and roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick round. Place in a 9-inch tart pan, trim the edges. Prick the dough with a fork and refrigerate 30 minutes up to 2 hours. (you can even freeze the dough in the tart pan at this point and let thaw in the fridge overnight when you are ready). In the meantime, prepare the applesauce. 

Apple Compote: (you can prepare it up to 2 days in advance) 

1/2 vanilla bean 

2 tablespoons sugar 

6 medium apples (Golden Delicious apples) 

1/4 cup to 1/3 cup (60 to 80ml) water 

 On a flat surface, cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise without cutting all the way through and scrape the seeds from the pods with a pairing knife. Place them in a large saucepan along with the sugar. Set aside. Core and roughly chop the apples. Add them to the vanilla and sugar mixture along with the water. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Turn the heat down, cover and let the apples stew for about 1 hour. Check every 20 minutes to and add water to the mixture if the liquid evaporates faster than the apples can cook. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Scoop about 1 1/2 cups applesauce inside the prepared tart pan. 

Apple Topping: 

2 tablespoons (15gr) granulated sugar 

zest of half a lemon 

2-3 medium apples 

 Preheat oven to 350F and position a rack in the middle. In a small bowl, rub together the sugar and lemon zest so that the citrus natural oils can flavor the sugar. Core and thinly slice the apples. Decoratively arrange the slices over the compote and sprinkle evenly with the sugar. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top apples are golden brown.