Apple Tart (Cédric Grolet)

I received the book Fruits by Cédric Grolet a few weeks ago, and I was very eager to try one of his recipes. I decided on this apple tart recipe, which has already been featured in the magazines Fou de Pâtisserie and Pâtisserie & Compagnie. Made of sweet pastry, almond cream, apple compote, and apple slices, it is very low in sugar and highlights the apple in various forms. The acidity brought by the Granny Smith is balanced by the sweeter Royal Gala apples and the almond cream. If you make this tart, I recommend sticking to the types of apples in the recipe to get a result that closely resembles Cédric Grolet's original tart. There's nothing too complicated in this recipe; you just need to start the day before for the sweet pastry. Finally, as often, the quantities were too large for one tart, the recipe I give you is for a 24cm tart (quantities calculated based on the leftovers I had). That's all, get your apples ready!

Preparation time: 2h30 to 3h

Sweet Pastry:

112g butter
71g icing sugar
23g almond powder
1g Guérande salt
1g vanilla powder
44g eggs
188g T55 flour

Cream the butter with the icing sugar (in a mixer with a paddle attachment, or in a bowl), then add the almond powder, salt, and vanilla.

Emulsify the cream obtained with the previously beaten eggs, then gradually add the flour until you have a homogeneous ball.

Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

After resting, roll out the dough to a thickness of 3mm, then line a 24cm diameter tart ring, 2cm high. Then let the dough dry for 1 day in the refrigerator.

Almond Cream:

56g butter
56g granulated sugar
56g almond powder
56g eggs

Cream the butter with the sugar and almond powder, then gradually add the previously beaten eggs.

Place the almond cream in a piping bag then store it in the refrigerator.

Granny Smith Apple Compote:

750g Granny Smith apples
95g lemon juice

Peel the apples, then cut them into small cubes of 3mm side (the longest part of the recipe for me, making tiny apple cubes is not very quick). Add the lemon juice.

Here is the technique given in the book: put the apples in a vacuum bag, then cook in a steam oven at 100°C or in boiling water for 13 minutes. As I wasn't equipped, I prepared a bain-marie and cooked my compote in a small covered saucepan for about 45 minutes. I stopped cooking when I got a compote with still some small visible apple cubes.

Apple Slices:

7-8 Royal Gala apples (depending on apple size)
100g butter

Cut the apples into slices 1mm thick using a mandoline if possible, you'll get more regular slices and you'll save a lot of time. Nothing was indicated in the recipe, but I was afraid the apples might turn brown, so I dipped them in a warm lemon syrup (200g water, 100g lemon juice, 150g sugar, all brought to a boil then let cool) for 2 to 3 minutes.

Baking and Assembly:

100g egg yolks
25g liquid cream

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Bake the tart crust blind for 25 minutes. Mix the egg yolks and cream, then brush the tart with this mixture using a brush. Put the tart back in the oven for 10 minutes.
Once out of the oven, fill the tart with almond cream (about halfway up), then bake it again for 10 minutes.

Once the tart is baked and cooled, fill it with apple compote (I formed a slight dome), then arrange the apple slices in a spiral, overlapping them, from the outside to the inside of the tart.