Apple Tarts with Honey and Chocolate Sauces
The Nitty Gritty:
Pears would also work swimmingly in these delightful, rustic tarts.- Level: 1
- Prep Time: 10 minutes, plus 20 minutes in the oven
- Yields: 6 servings
- Tags: dessert
Another winner from L’Academie de Cuisine… You can assemble these tarts on a baking sheet 3-4 hours ahead of time, then slide them in the oven as dinner is winding down.
Extremely short, easy recipes for honey and chocolate sauces follow the main recipe. We recommend serving these tarts warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a little bit of each sauce.
Ingredients:
- 17 oz. package frozen puff pastry
- 2 large Granny Smith apples
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- Drizzle each tart with lemon juice, then sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove one sheet of puff pastry from the package and defrost for a few minutes, until you can open it up and lie it flat. (Save the other sheet for next time.)
- Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel and core the apples.
- Cut the sheet of puff pastry into six squares and lay them on the baking sheet. (Use 2 baking sheets if they don't fit.)
- Quarter the apples vertically and slice as thinly as possible. Lay the apple slices in a spiral pattern on the pastry squares, overlapping them to fit lots of slices on each square. Be sure to leave a small edge around all 4 sides.
- Drizzle each tart with lemon juice, then sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon. Place 2 or 3 pieces of the butter on each tart.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the pastry is nicely puffed up along the edges and everything starts to brown. Serve drizzled with honey or chocolate sauce (or both, ideally -- recipes below. Make these while the tarts bake.)
Honey Sauce
1 c. honey
1/2 c. heavy cream
Heat honey in saucepan until it starts to bubble and gets a little color (a nice, deep brown). Deglaze the pan with heavy cream. Bring back to a boil and whisk, then reduce heat to low and keep warm until serving.
(You can add a little fresh thyme or rosemary for an interesting savory dimension.)
Chocolate Sauce
4 oz. good-quality bittersweet chocolate
4 oz. heavy cream
Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Add chocolate and whisk. Add more cream or chocolate to thicken or thin the sauce -- it should be thin, but not too runny. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until serving.
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By Alison L. McConnell
Alison L. McConnell is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and writer. A native of New Jersey and upstate New York, she attended Bowdoin College in Maine and the London School of Economics before settling in Washington, where she works as a financial reporter and pursues her zeal for cooking on the side. Some of her favorite things to make are risottos, roast chickens, and cakes. She abides by a long-standing family motto: McConnells always finish their desserts.
About The Humble Gourmand
The Humble Gourmand is a monthly online publication edited by Alison L. McConnell, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and writer. It is designed to offer straightforward lessons and advice to aspiring cooks, oenophiles, and all other eaters and drinkers.
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