Apple Tart with Cider Glaze - Bake from Scratch

      Recipe by Nicole Plue

      Apple Tart with Cider Glaze

      - ½ Blitz Puff Dough (recipe follows), rolled to 3 mm

      - 1 cup plus 2¼ tablespoons (227 grams) granulated sugar

      - 1 cup (227 grams) salted butter

      - 4 Granny Smith apples (900 grams), peeled and sliced into 12 pieces

      - Cider Glaze (recipe follows)

      **Blitz Puff Dough**

      - 1½ cups (340 grams) cold unsalted butter* (European-style)

      - 2⅔ cups (340 grams) bread flour

      - 1¾ teaspoons (5 grams) kosher salt

      - ⅔ cup plus 2 teaspoons (170 grams) ice water

      **Cider Glaze**

      - 1 (750 ml) container of apple cider

      - ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar

      - 1¼ teaspoons (5 grams) pectin

      **Apple Tart with Cider Glaze**

      Start by lining a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the puff pastry into a rectangle, ensuring all sides are even, and place it on the prepared pan. Refrigerate until ready to assemble. In a large pot that allows for single-layer cooking, heat the sugar and butter over medium heat, whisking to combine until the sugar dissolves. Add the apples in batches, ensuring they do not overlap to promote even cooking. Cook until the apples are tender but not disintegrating; they may brown slightly, which is acceptable since they will even out when baked. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the apples from the butter mixture to a tray to cool. The butter and sugar mixture can be stored for reuse, lasting about a month. Once the apples are properly chilled, layer them in tight rows on top of the puff pastry, leaving a ½” border around the edges. Chill the tart for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375°F for convection (400°F for conventional). Bake until the apples are golden brown and the pastry is deep golden and fully cooked, about 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. Check the underside for any areas that may be underbaked. Take the tart out and brush it with Cider Glaze. It is best served hot!

      **Blitz Puff Dough**

      Cut the butter into roughly 1” cubes and mix it with the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Start the mixer and gradually pour in the ice water. Stop mixing once the flour has absorbed the water and no dry patches are left, while still being able to see large butter chunks. Lightly press the mixture into a rectangle, cover, and refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes. After resting, roll the dough into a ¼” thick rectangle. Fold the dough like a business letter to complete one single turn. Rotate it 90 degrees and repeat. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. Repeat the rolling and folding process two more times for a total of 4 single turns. Wrap the dough and chill again for 1 hour. The dough is now ready to roll out and use as needed.

      **Cider Glaze**

      In a medium saucepan, heat the cider over medium heat. Let it simmer at a low boil until reduced by half, about 45 to 50 minutes. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and pectin together. Introduce this mixture into the cider and allow it to continue reducing until it thickens slightly and becomes syrupy, approximately 14 to 18 minutes. It is best when used warm.

      *We recommend Plugra Unsalted Butter.

      We’d love to hear how it turned out!