French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream

By
Christine Benlafquih
Christine Benlafquih
Christine Benlafquih
Christine Benlafquih is a freelance writer and cooking class instructor with a background in Moroccan cuisine.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 01/6/23
Tested by
Kayla Hoang
Photo of Kayla Hoang
Tested by Kayla Hoang
Kayla Hoang is a freelance recipe developer, writer, and baker whose Bangladeshi and Vietnamese roots influence all she does. Her life revolves around food and she can almost always be found waiting by the oven for a fresh batch of cookies.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Golden brown glazed French apple tart on a cake plate

The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska
Prep: 70 mins
Cook: 60 mins
Chill and Cool: 5 hrs
Total: 7 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
432 Calories
18g Fat
63g Carbs
8g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 432
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 18g 23%
Saturated Fat 10g 49%
Cholesterol 176mg 59%
Sodium 191mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 63g 23%
Dietary Fiber 3g 11%
Total Sugars 37g
Protein 8g
Vitamin C 5mg 27%
Calcium 71mg 5%
Iron 2mg 10%
Potassium 218mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

A variety of French fruit tarts are popular in Morocco but given a choice, I'll always choose Tarte aux Pommes over other offerings. Thinly sliced apples are tossed with sugar and a little bit of cinnamon, and then attractively layered in a sweet pastry shell lined with pastry cream (creme patisserie). Baking caramelizes the apples, while an apricot glaze adds sheen and a bit of tartness to the finished dessert.

Although the flavors are similar, this is not as quick to throw together as American-style apple pie. Not only will you need to give a little more care to how you slice and arrange the apples, but you'll need to plan ahead to make both the pastry cream and pastry dough well in advance of assembling the tart. 

"While it requires a bit of time and planning, this tart is as delicious as it is beautiful. The pastry cream is easy to make and not overly sweet, the crust bakes up nice and crisp, and the apples cook down perfectly." —Kayla Hoang

French Apple Tart Recipe With Pastry Cream Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

For the Pastry Dough:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into bits

  • 1 large egg yolk

  • Ice-cold water

For the Pastry Cream:

  • 3 large egg yolks

  • 3 to 4 tablespoons sugar

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

  • 1 cup whole milk

  • 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Apple Layer:

  • 3 large or 4 small apples, preferably firm and tart

  • 1/2 cup sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For the Glaze:

  • 1/4 cup apricot jam

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice or water

Steps to Make It

Make the Pastry Dough

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for pastry dough recipe gathered

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  2. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

    Flour and sugar being stirred with a wooden spoon in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  3. Add the cold butter and work it into the flour mixture with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.

    Crumbly flour and butter mixture in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  4. Work in the egg yolk until the mixture looks like a fine meal.

    Egg yolk added to flour and butter mixture in the bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  5. Then use a fork to stir in ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough can be gathered together and pressed into a ball.

    Pastry dough being worked with a dinner fork

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  6. Shape and flatten the dough into a smooth disc shape, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. 

    Compact pastry dough ball wrapped tightly in cling wrap

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

Make the Pastry Cream

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for pastry cream recipe gathered

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar.

    Egg yolks and sugar being whisked with a metal wire whisk in a large bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  3. Whisk in the flour and cornstarch until smooth; set aside. 

    Smooth creamy pastry cream mixture being whisked in a large bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  4. In a saucepan, heat the milk with vanilla bean almost to boiling. If using vanilla extract, add it later in step 6.

    Milk and vanilla bean in a saucepan

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  5. Remove the vanilla bean, then slowly and gradually whisk the milk into the egg mixture.

    Milk being whisked into the pastry cream mixture in the bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  6. Strain the mixture back into the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking or stirring constantly, until thickened. Continue cooking for another half minute while stirring, then remove from the heat. Whisk in the vanilla extract, if using.

    Pastry cream mixture being strained through a fine wire mesh sieve into a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  7. Lay a piece of plastic film on the surface of the pastry cream. Cool down the pastry cream by either chilling it in the fridge or over an ice bath, stirring from time to time.

    Cling wrap placed right over pastry cream in bowl, covering the inner side of the bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

Assemble and Bake the Tart

  1. Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 F/200 C.

    Ingredients for French apple tart recipe gathered

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  2. Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples.

    Evenly sliced apples on a wooden cutting board

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  3. Place the slices in a bowl and toss gently with the sugar and cinnamon.

    Apple slices tossed with cinnamon sugar in a glass bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  4. If the apples start to brown, you can toss in a tablespoon of lemon juice.

    Apples slices tossed with lemon juice in a glass bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  5. Roll out the pastry into a circle about 1/8-inch thick and fit into a 9-inch tart pan, trimming the excess dough. 

    Tart pan lined with pastry dough, excess dough removed

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  6. Give the chilled pastry cream a good whisk to loosen and smooth it out. Spread the pastry cream across the bottom of the pastry shell.

    Pastry cream spread thickly over bottom of pastry dough

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  7. Arrange the apple slices in a pattern over the pastry cream and dot the apples with tiny bits of butter.

    Add apples arranged in a swirl pattern in the pan

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  8. Wrap strips of aluminum foil around the edges of the tart pan to protect the crust from burning.

    Aluminum foil wrapped around the edges of the tart crust

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  9. Bake the tart in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes.

    Light golden pie crust with edges wrapped in foil on an oven rack

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  10. Remove the foil, and continue baking for another 10 minutes, or until the apples and crust are nicely colored.

    Foil removed from edges of tart on the oven rack

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  11. Remove the tart to a rack to cool.

    Apple tart cooling on a wire rack

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  12. While the tart is still warm, heat the apricot jam with the lemon juice until boiling.

    Liquified apricot jam and lemon juice in a mug

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  13. Strain the mixture.

    Apricot glaze being strained though a small fine wire mesh sieve into a jar

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  14. Then use a pastry brush to apply the apricot glaze over the apples. 

    Apple tart being brushed with apricot glaze

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  15. Refrigerate the tart when it has cooled completely.

    Glazed golden brown apple tart on a cake plate

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

  16. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

    Apple tart with pastry cream filling on a cake plate, one slice being removed with a cake server

    The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska

Tips

  • For greater ease transferring the tart into and out of the oven, build the tart in the tart pan set on a rimmed baking sheet. Baking the tart on a baking sheet will not change the cook time.
  • The sugar quantity in the pastry recipe below is for a less sweet shortcrust; if you'd prefer a sweeter pastry dough, follow the pate sucree recipe instead. 

Recipe Variation

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