I hosted Thanksgiving for the first time this year and stuck with a traditional menu: turkey, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, and apple pie. My pie was a salted apple cider caramel apple pie with a herringbone lattice crust. It looked impressive and guests said they liked it, but I wasn’t fully satisfied.
A few days later I used extra apples from the crisper to make another dessert—more of a tart than a pie, maybe a galette. It had a flaky all-butter crust, a layer of honey-almond frangipane, rainbow apple slices, and a dusting of cardamom sugar. It was quicker to assemble than my lattice pie and tasted fantastic. I wished I had made it for Thanksgiving.
I call this a rustic tart because it’s baked in a tart pan for crust support while still maintaining a folded-over, galette-like edge. Choose crisp, flavorful apples—using varieties with different skin colors and arranging slices from darkest to lightest creates a beautiful ombré effect. I used the Smitten Kitchen “all-butter, really flaky” pie dough recipe for a single crust, but use whatever flaky crust you prefer.
Rustic Ombré Apple Tart with Honey Frangipane
A semi-free-form tart filled with honey-almond frangipane and a rainbow of apple slices, finished with cardamom sugar.
Ingredients
-
All-butter pie dough for a single crust
(I used the Smitten Kitchen all-butter, really flaky pie dough) -
56
g (1/2 stick)
unsalted butter
at room temperature -
35
g
honey -
25
g
sugar -
a pinch
salt -
1
large egg
lightly beaten -
60
g
blanched almond flour -
5–6
large apples
To finish:
-
1
tbsp
granulated sugar -
large pinch
ground cardamom
(preferably freshly ground) -
1
egg
lightly beaten
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
-
In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon granulated sugar with the ground cardamom.
-
On a large, lightly floured sheet of parchment, roll the pie dough into an 11-inch square. Use the parchment to transfer the dough to a 9-inch square tart pan, gently easing the dough into the pan so it extends about 1/2 inch over the edge. Chill the pan in the refrigerator or freezer while you prepare the filling.
-
In a medium bowl, beat the butter, pinch of salt, 25 g sugar, and honey until light and fluffy. Gradually mix in the almond flour and the beaten egg, alternating between them until fully combined to form the honey frangipane.
-
Halve and core the apples, then slice the halves thinly. You can slice lengthwise or crosswise; aim for slices about 2.5–2.75 inches long so they lay nicely in rows.
-
Remove the tart pan from the fridge and spread the honey frangipane evenly in the bottom. Arrange the apple slices in tightly packed rows, starting with the apples with the darkest skin and finishing with the lightest to create an ombré effect.
-
Fold the dough over the apples to create a rustic edge, then brush the dough with the lightly beaten egg.
-
Sprinkle the cardamom-sugar mixture over the apples and, if you like, across the crust as well.
-
If possible, freeze the assembled tart for 5 minutes; otherwise bake immediately.
-
Bake at 400°F for 50–60 minutes, until the frangipane is puffed and lightly browned and the crust is golden.
-
Allow the tart to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, remove it from the tin and serve.
Recipe Notes
- For the crust I used half of the Smitten Kitchen all-butter pie dough recipe (enough for a single crust). Bakers have strong preferences about pie dough, so use your favorite flaky recipe. Make sure the dough has chilled for at least two hours before rolling.
- To get a crispier bottom crust: bake the tart on a lower rack, and/or place the tart pan on a preheated pizza stone or an inverted sheet pan.
- The easiest way to slice the apples is to cut them lengthwise on either side of the core, then slice the resulting pieces thinly.
- Let the tart cool fully before removing it from the pan—the filling-to-crust ratio is high and the crust is delicate when warm.
- If you don’t have a square tart pan, a 9-inch round pan will work; you may need to adjust the apple arrangement. You can also make this as a free-form galette on parchment—use fewer apples and leave a 1.5–2 inch border to fold over the filling.
