Easy Pastry Shop Apple Tart

This recipe comes from chef Laura Calder and her show “French Food at Home” on The Cooking Channel. It’s rich and decadent like cheesecake but doesn’t need to be chilled. The topping is simple enough to allow the apples to stand out on their own. We found this to be excellent with Macouns. It would also be fun to make this with Gray Pearmains and serve it to unknowing guests.  

Ingredients:

Crust

  • ½ cup butter

  • 1/3 cup sugar

  • ½ tsp vanilla

  • 1 cup flour

 Filling

  • 8 oz cream cheese

  • 1 egg

  • ¼ cup sugar

  • ½ tsp vanilla

 Topping

  • 3 apples, cored and thinly sliced

  • ½ tsp cinnamon

  • ¼ cup sugar

  • ¼ cup slivered almonds or chopped walnuts

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400˚.

  2. Crust - Cream the butter and sugar, then stir in the vanilla. Mix in the flour to make a smooth dough. Press into the bottom of an 8-inch spring-form pan, giving it about a 1-inch rim. Bake 15 minutes, or until lightly golden.

  3. Filling - While the crust bakes, prepare the filling by beating together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth.

  4. Topping - In a separate bowl toss the apple slices with the cinnamon and sugar.

  5. Remove the tart shell from the oven, and spread the cream cheese mixture inside. Arrange the apple slices on top, then scatter on the nuts. Bake until the apples are tender and golden, about 40 minutes.