Fresh Apple Tart

Ahhh, fall is here in Alaska. The first snowfall of the year has come. The days are getting shorter and the temps are falling fast.

The perfect time of year to enjoy apple pastries. This is very similar to the Recipe from the Barefoot Contessa, with a little Susie twist.

It is a beautiful pastry, sweet but tart with a lovely crisp pastry. I love to serve this warm with creme fraiche or lightly sweetened cream.

Here is my simple recipe

3 Granny Smith Apples, or a good cooking apple of your choice
1 prepared puff pasty sheet, rolled out to about 10x10
1/2 stick of butter
1/3 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/3 cup of Mango Jam/Preserves

Roll out the puff pastry and place on silpat or parchment on a baking sheet. Lightly prick with a fork, but leave the outside edge un-pricked. This will let the edges puff up when baking, but you dont want the center to puff up and ruin the crust. Peel and cut apples in to even slices. Arrange slices in a decorative pattern on the pastry crust.

Mix nutmeg, sugars, and cinnamon together. I like to put this in a shaker and shake over the top of the apples. Cube the butter, actually you can use less butter than this but I love butter! And sprinkle on top of apples.

Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes. Keep an eye on this. You want the apples to carmalize but not burn. And you want to look for a nice brown puff crust. Remove from oven when done. Depending on how thick your apples are it could be more than 40 or less than 40 :-)

Take your Mango Jam and heat on the stove or microwave until its melted down and gooey. Add some water to think it out a bit. Brush this over the top of the pastry. Slice and add your cream. Perfect desert!