Tarte Normande
Scaled amounts are a guide — baking times and pan sizes do not scale with them.
Ingredients
- 155 g all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 50 g sugar, for the crust
- 125 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 egg yolks
- 4 baking apples
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 100 g sugar, for the filling
- 250 ml heavy cream (30% fat)
- 30 ml Calvados
- 15 g all-purpose flour, for the filling
- 25 g sugar, for sprinkling
What makes this tart Norman is not the apples — it is the cream and the Calvados, the two things Normandy puts in almost everything. Sliced apples are laid into a par-baked sweet crust and covered with a thin custard of eggs, sugar, heavy cream and apple brandy, thickened with just two spoons of flour so it sets without turning stodgy. A little sugar over the apples caramelises the exposed edges. It is meant to be plain and unfussy, and it is as good warm as cold.
Method
Combine the flour, salt and sugar, cut in the cold butter until the mixture is crumbly and sandy, then add the egg yolks and work it into a ball. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 205°C (400°F). Roll the dough 5 mm thick between two sheets of parchment, line a buttered 23 cm tart pan, trim the edges and prick the base with a fork.
Par-bake with pie weights for 10 minutes, then cool and remove the weights. Lower the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Whisk the eggs with the sugar until foamy, whisk in the cream and Calvados, then sprinkle over the flour and whisk it in.
Peel, core and cut each apple into about 12 slices. Lay half the slices over the crust and arrange the rest in a circle on top.
Pour the cream filling into the middle and sprinkle the remaining sugar over the apples.
Bake for 40 minutes, until the crust is golden and the filling has set. Cool 30 minutes before unmoulding, and serve warm or cold.
