Frozen puff pastry is a versatile product that can be used to create sweet or savoury dishes without a lot of fuss. It can be used as a base for tarts, cut into triangles and filled to form turnovers or used as a topping for deep-dish potpies. One package of puff pastry typically contains two portions. Once the pastry is thawed to room temperature, cut it in half and roll each portion out to use as desired.
The best types of pre-made puff pastry are those made with real butter. It is certainly something that can be made from scratch by the home cook but is quite time consuming. Puff pastry is made when butter is folded into dough and rolled out. The process is repeated until the butter forms many flaky layers and 'puffs' up when baked. Using packaged puff pastry allows the home cook to put together impressive dishes in a fraction of the time with minimal effort.
Apple Caramel Tart
There are a number of components to assembling this tart but it is very straightforward if done step by step. The caramel can be prepared in advance.
Makes one 10" tart
- ½ package of frozen puff pastry, thawed
Caramel:
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons whipping cream (35% M.F.)
Apple Spice Layer:
- 5 medium sized apples, such as McIntosh
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1/8 cup flour
Glaze:
- 2 Tablespoons apricot jam
- 1 teaspoon butter
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Roll puff pastry out to fit a 10" tart pan. Place pastry in pan and crimp edges. Place the pan in the fridge until ready to use.
- In a large saucepan, combine sugar and water and heat on medium-high, whisking until sugar is dissolved.
- Heat mixture until it begins to turn medium brown, about 10 minutes. Swirl pan to stir mixture and watch very carefully as it can burn in seconds.
- Once the sugar mixture reaches the desired colour, remove immediately from the heat and add the butter, salt and whipping cream. Whisk together until combined.
- Caramel can be made in advance and refrigerated until ready to use. It will get quite thick upon cooling so re-heat it before using.
Preparing the apples:
- Peel and core apples with an apple corer. Cut each apple in half lengthwise through the middle. Place the halves on a cutting board with the flat sides facing down. Cut into slices about 1/8" thick.
- In a medium bowl, toss apple slices with cinnamon, sugar and flour until evenly coated with spice mixture. Assemble tart immediately (do not prepare apples in advance or they will turn brown).
To Assemble Tart:
- Spread caramel in an even layer on the uncooked puff pastry.
- Arrange apple slices in a spiral pattern around the tart, overlapping the slices slightly. Make sure the entire tart is covered with apple slices.
- Bake tart for about 50 minutes or until the pastry is beginning to brown around the edges. Remove tart from oven.
- Mix apricot jam with butter and heat in a saucepan or the microwave until melted and bubbling. Using a pastry brush, carefully brush apple slices with apricot mixture and return to the oven for another 7 to 10 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the pastry is browned along the edges.
- Slice and serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
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