Apple Tart With Apricot and Grand Marnier® Glaze
400 days ago
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My husband is a pie-lover. He especially likes fruit pies, so we celebrate his birthday and many other occasions with them. This Apple Tart With Apricot and Grand Marnier® Glaze recipe isn’t technically a pie, but is close enough and has become THE dessert to celebrate with, especially with a scoop of Tahitian vanilla ice cream.
The tart uses a pie crust and includes fresh apples, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, apple pie spice and butter. Then it’s all covered in a glaze that gets its sweetness from apricots and its orange, oaky flavor from Grand Marnier liqueur.
The Ingredients
Granny Smith are the best apples to use. When selecting them try to pick ones that are about the same size. Leave the skin on to add to the presentation and use a 5″ Petite Santoku to slice them.
For tips on how to easily slice apples, Cutco has a great tutorial on their website. Check it out.
To prepare the ready-made pie crusts, remove them from the refrigerator about 15 to 20 minutes before using, bringing them to room temperature. Roll them out so that they’re more oval than round and then place them on a sheet pan so they overlap in the middle.
Use Super Shears to cut each crust to square it up in the middle.
Use your fingers and a touch of water to blend the crusts together. You can also use the same method with the dough scraps to even out the edges.
Making the Apple Tart
Once the dough is prepared, start layering on the apples slices. Start in one corner and lay them down like shingles, overlapping slightly.
Move down the crust until the crust is covered, keeping a quarter-inch border.
Fold the crust up, pinching it all around the tart.
Combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and apple pie spice, and then sprinkle it on the apples. Dot the tart with diced butter and toss it into a 400 F oven for about 30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
Allow the tart to cool for four to five minutes. While it's cooling, put the apricot preserves and Grand Marnier liqueur into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds and stir. Repeat until they have melted together to form a glaze.
Using a pastry brush, spread the glaze over the entire tart, getting all the apples and the crust.
The crust brushed with the glaze is one of my favorite parts of this recipe. I like to use apricot preserves with the chunks so that it adds some texture and extra flavor.
This Apple Tart With Apricot and Grand Marnier® Glaze is another recipe that’s done in under an hour. It’s something I can have ready in a hurry for any celebration.
It is buttery, crispy and creamy all at the same time.
Marianne Brand, chef and former restauranteur, is the director of food and beverage education at New York Kitchen in Canandaigua, a center that showcases New York State’s agriculture through cooking classes, beverage pairings and other programs.
Ingredients
- 2 refrigerated ready-made pie crusts
- 4-6 unpeeled Granny Smith apples, sliced about 1/4″ thick
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced and kept cool
- 1/2 cup apricot preserves
- 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier® liqueur
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Take the pie crusts out of the refrigerator to sit for 15 to 20 minutes to bring them to room temperature.
- Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper so that it slightly overhangs the sides of the pan.
- Roll each pie crust separately so they are more oval than round. Place them on the sheet pan so that they overlap in the middle. Trim off the edge of each pie dough toward the middle to square them up. Then use your finger and a touch of water to blend them together to form one cohesive crust.
- Use the dough scraps to even out the dough around the outside edges.
- Starting at one corner of the pie crust, layer the apple slices like shingles moving diagonally down the crust until the crust is covered, keeping a quarter-inch border.
- Fold the crust in while pinching it all around the tart.
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar and the spices. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples.
- Dot the tart with the cold diced butter.
- Bake for 30 minutes and check to see if the crust is light brown. If not, add an additional 10 to 15 minutes, checking regularly. Turn the pan once half-way through baking.
- Remove tart from oven and place on a cooling rack.
- Put the apricot preserves in a microwave safe measuring cup and add the Grand Marnier. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Repeat until preserves have melted together with the Grand Marnier to make a glaze.
- Use a pastry brush to glaze the tart, both apples and crust alike.
- Let the tart cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm with Tahitian vanilla bean gelato.
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