Easy apple tart made with puff pastry and baked until flaky and golden brown, it tastes as amazing as it looks. A favorite fall dessert for the family!
Whenever apples are in season, my daughter gets especially excited about this Easy Apple Tart recipe that we often bake together. Flaky, buttery pastry puffs topped with apples and cinnamon, it is such a treat! If you have children at home, you’ll have fun making this delicious dessert together.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Apple Tart Recipe
- Absolutely foolproof. Anyone can make this apple tart—including kids and non-bakers—because you really can’t go wrong with this recipe.
- Easiest fall dessert to make with all the apples you pick from the orchard.
- Light and flaky texture. This is the one to make when you prefer a lighter and non-heavy dessert.
- Elegant and pretty. The open-face presentation showcases the thinly sliced apples, which makes it an elegant dessert to serve on holiday get-togethers or special occasions.
Puff Pastry for Easy Apple Tart
We’ll begin with the versatile puff pastry, which is a blessing for time-saving purposes when making a tart.
I always have one or two rolls of frozen puff pastry in the freezer because I can just whip up some fruit tarts, pastries, or pies whenever we have unexpected guests. With this tart recipe, you can also make it with seasonal fruits besides apples.
What else do I love about these pastry sheets? The buttery, flaky puff pastry crust! You really don’t need to be an expert baker to use these sheets, but the final results will surely impress your friends and family.
You can find frozen puff pastry in the freezer section of your local supermarket.
Ingredients You’ll Need for this Easy Apple Tart
- Frozen puff pastry
- Cold unsalted butter
- Apples – see below for best apples to use
- Confectioners’ sugar/powdered sugar
- Apricot jam or apricot jelly (or apple sauce or fig jam) – optional but it adds a nice jammy sweetness to the tart
- Egg wash
- Cinnamon sugar – a combination of sugar and cinnamon power
Best Apples to Use
For this recipe, I used Fuji apples, which are our family’s favorite kind of apple. Though, according to The Food Lab’s test result, it’s not the best kind of apple for an apple pie (if you have time, read the article). Granny Smith apples are one of the top choices for baking. What are your favorite(s) for making apple pies and tarts?
Here are some of the popular apples to use in pies and tarts (in alphabetical order).
- Braeburn
- Golden Delicious
- Gala
- Golden Delicious
- Granny Smith
- Honeycrisp
- Jonagold
- Jonathan
- Melrose
- Mutsu
- Pink Lady
- Rome Beauty
- Winesap
Best Ways to Enjoy This Apple Tart
This apple tart is light and delicious when eaten on its own, but is also amazing a la mode with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. You could do with fresh whipped cream or crème fraîche too.
Here is another tip, you can make this tart ahead of time and set it aside. Simply reheat in a low oven temp before serving!
How to Store the Leftover Apple Tart
Wrap the tart in aluminum foil (I keep them individually packed for a later snack) and put in a freezer bag. Store in the freezer for up to a month. Reheat the frozen tart (do not defrost) in the oven or oven toaster before you enjoy.
More Tart and Pie Recipes You’ll Enjoy
- Pear and Almond Tart
- Perfect Sweet Tart Crust
- Cranberry Brie Bites (with Puff Pastry)
- Japanese Sweet Potato Pie
- Kabocha Squash Pie
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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Easy Apple Tart
Ingredients
For Tart
- 1 frozen puff pastry (each box comes with 2 sheets)
- 1 ½ Tbsp Unsalted butter (cold)
- 2 apples (I used fuji apple)
- 1 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar/powdered sugar
Apricot Glaze (optional)
- 2 Tbsp apricot jam (can substitute it with apple sauce or fig jam)
- 2 tsp water
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp water
Cinnamon Sugar
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- ¼ tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
Instructions
- Gather all your ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Cut the cold butter into small cubes.
- Allow the puff pastry sheet to thaw on a sheet of parchment paper for about 15-20 minutes, then carefully unfold it. When the dough is thawed, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough: it helps make the dough more even and connects the folding creases (if there are any). Once puff pastry sheet has thawed, work quickly while it’s still cold. If the sheet reaches room temperature, return to the fridge to chill (but not refreeze).
- With a sharp knife, score a ¾ -inch (2 cm) border around the edge of the puff pastry sheet to create a crust (Do not cut all the way through the dough). Poke the inner square (rectangle) all over with a fork. Transfer the puff pastry sheet with parchment paper to a rimmed baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, add 2 Tbsp apricot jam and 1 tsp water. Stir well to combine so it’s easy to spread.
- In another small bowl, combine the egg yolk and 1 tsp water. Whisk well together.
- In another small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp sugar and ¼ tsp cinnamon powder.
- Peel, core, and cut the apples into ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick slices. Try to keep the slices stacked together so you can easily spread and fan out on the puff pastry.
- Evenly spread the apricot glaze in the center of the pastry sheet.
- Arrange the apple slices on the jam, overlapping slightly and fanning them out as you go. You may end up not using all the apple slices, just eat and enjoy them.
- Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture. Brush around the crust with the egg wash. And then place the butter cubes over the apples.
- Bake at 400ºF (200ºC) for about 22 to 25 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
- Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing. If you like, sprinkle powder sugar on top and/or serve with vanilla ice cream.
To Store
- Wrap the tart in aluminum foil (I keep them individually packed for a later snack) and put in a freezer bag. Store in the freezer for up to a month. Reheat the frozen tart (do not defrost) in the oven or oven toaster before you enjoy.
