FAMILY RECIPE “TARTE AUX POMMES” (APPLE PIE)
This recipe is not Italian but as I have already said, our Italian-Spanish family lived in Paris for many years and the women learned to cook great recipes from France. My mother is a great pastry chef and this authentic “tarte aux pommes” is delicious, it is a hit on any occasion.
For the “sablée ” dough[masa quebrada] (this dough is the most delicate and appropriate for making a tart with raw fruit or compote):
- 250 gr. flour
- 150 gr. butter
- 80 gr. sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 egg
For the compote (preferably homemade):
- 3 Golden apples (2 if very large)
- Sugar to taste (about 30-40 gr would be enough, but the sweeter ones can add a little bit more)
- Cinnamon powder
To cover and decorate the cake:
- 3 apples
- Sugar and cinnamon
Sift the flour into a bowl (in baking it is important).
In another bowl, put the egg with the salt and sugar, work the mixture with a spatula until it whitens and then pour in the flour in the form of rain.
Turn until the flour is absorbed into the mixture and then “break” the dough: take a little between your hands which you will rub against each other and let it fall back into the bowl as if it were sand (sable in French means sand, hence the name “pâte sablée”).
Do this with all the dough and put the butter piece at room temperature (out of the fridge since the night before except in summer) and with the fingertips, make the butter penetrate lightly and quickly.
Once the dough has a homogeneous, firm and smooth texture, make a ball and let it rest for at least one hour in the bowl wrapped in plastic wrap (it can be left for many more hours, even the day before, since the colder the butter is incorporated into the dough, the easier it will be to work to spread it and fill it before putting it in the oven).
Peel the apples and remove the core and pips, cut into pieces of about 2-3cm and put in a saucepan with the sugar and cinnamon. Let it cook until the fruit is well done so that it can be made into a well-done compote. Reserve
Grease with butter the cake pan of about 35cm in diameter. Roll out the dough and place it in the mold. With a soup spoon, spread the reserved compote all over the dough.
Peel and cut the apples to decorate in thin strips of 1 centimeter, spread them evenly and beautifully forming a spiral to make it beautiful to look at.
Sprinkle all the apple strips with more sugar and cinnamon as well.
Bake at 180º for approximately 30 minutes. It always depends on the oven . When the edges are golden brown it should be ready, otherwise cover with aluminum foil on top so it does not burn.
Et voilà! Dégustez en compagnie
Bon appétit
