Torching Apple Tarts

Desserts with fruit do me in.  Crepes with strawberry jam, poached pears, apple strudel... but apple tart tatin has always been too sticky and gooey for my taste.  This simple apple tart is crispy and buttery and most importantly, delicious.  It was easy and so much fun to use my new blow torch to carmelize the top.

Here's how I made it with recipe below.  Enjoy!



Ingredients

1 Pepperidge Farm Pastry Sheet
1 braeburn apple (pink ladies work well too)
1/4 cup regular or fine sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 lemon or lemon juice

Let your pastry sheet thaw on a baking sheet on parchment paper.  Set your oven to 400 degrees.
Peel, core and slice your apple into thin circles.  If you don't have an apple corer, you can slice the apples with your knife. Slice as thin as possible.  Squeeze lemon over slices to keep them from turning brown.  When the pastry is thawed, prick the sheet about a dozen times with a fork to prevent it puffing up like a top hat while cooking.

Line apple slices down the entire pastry sheet.  Coat them with melted butter and then sprinkle the sugar over the apples so they are completely covered.

Cook for 20-25 minutes until the apples and pastry are browned.  Sift powdered sugar over the entire tart.  This is what will help the apples carmelize.  If you have a blowtorch, carmelize the top until bubbling and golden brown.  If you don't have a torch, (completely understandable) put the powdered pastry under the broiler for approximately 2-5 minutes.  You must watch the pastry the entire time or it will char!

Let it cool for about ten minutes and serve.

Blow Torches & Tarts

My first apple tart was incredibly easy and fun to make.  It was also my first time using a blow torch. (You can see I got carried away in some places!)  Sure, the broiler can give you a similar effect, but there's something exciting about using power tools in the kitchen.  I'm shooting a vid to show you how I made it.  I'll post the recipe too.