If you’ve followed this blog for any amount of time you know that I’m more than a little excited about today’s post. I’ve long been a teensy bit of a Francophile, and today I’m sharing a delightfully fancy, all-too-beautiful French apple frangipane tart. It’s the kind of treat that feel effortlessly elegant, simple and complex all in one bite, and after we dive into it I think you’ll feel the same way.

Frangipane is decidedly French and particularly traditional around the Christmas holiday. Made with butter, sugar, eggs, and ground almonds, frangipane is a sweetened filling often used in a variety of French tarts, cakes, and pastries. I often see the filling paired with pears, but with the abundance of beautiful pink apples I’d been seeing at the store, I decided an apple frangipane tart was entirely necessary.

This whole idea of an apple frangipane tart came from working with Millesima USA, an online European fine wine retailer. They specialize in rare bottles and have an extensive selection of premium wines. I made my first order with them just before Thanksgiving and decided to create a dessert that would pair well with one of their many beautiful French wines. With the help of a friend, I ended up selecting two white wines from Chateau Fuisse, and let me tell you- they were DELICIOUS. The ordering process was incredibly simple and the bottles shipped to my local ABC store for free. In my small town of Selma, AL, I had gained access to Europe’s most extensive online library of wines. Talk about feeling fancy. 

So here it is: my fancy pants French dessert that just begs for a seriously  good glass of wine. To make this apple frangipane tart for yourself, we’ll start with the crust. Traditionally, frangipane tarts use a press-in pastry crust, but I decided to opt for my favorite pie crust. I love the extra butter and flake it lends this dessert. To make it, combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl before cutting in butter and shortening. Add ice water to the mixture until a shaggy dough comes together that you can chill until you’re ready to bake. Roll out of the dough on a floured surface and lay into a fluted tart pan. I used one with a removable bottom, but that’s totally optional here. Par-bake the crust briefly to allow the bottom to cook, and in the meantime you can whip up your filling! 

Softened butter and sugar are combined in a large bowl. Eggs, vanilla, and almond extract come next followed by the salt and almond flour. While the pie crust continues to bake, you can set your filling aside and slice the apples. I used 3 medium-sized pink lady apples, primarily because they bake well and have a beautiful pink skin. You can peel the skin off if you prefer, but I just couldn’t miss out on that color! Just thinly slice the apples and keep the little sections of slices together so that they’ll arrange pretty in the tart. When the crust is done baking, remove it from the oven and spread the frangipane inside. Gently lay fanned out sections of apples in the frangipane, pushing down just a tiny bit. Pop the apple frangipane tart back in the oven to bake for another 45 minutes. The filling will puff and turn golden by the time its done. 

Allow the apple frangipane tart to cool slightly before cutting and serving. You can certainly make this a day in advance and barely re-warm slices to serve. The crust is ridiculously flaky and the filling is perfectly sweet. The apples definitely taste best on the day of baking, but you can revive any dried out fruit by heating a bit of apricot or orange marmalade and brushing it on the fruit. It’s like an instant pick-me-up for a day-old dessert, and it adds a little sticky shine to the fruit too. This dessert is an elegant treat to serve at your upcoming holiday suppers, and you better believe it tastes splendid with a quality bottle of wine as well. I’ll link to the ones I picked out from Millesima so that you can try them for yourself. Whether for holiday parties or New Year bashes, Millesima is my new go-to source for special bottles worthy of celebrations. Check out there retail space online and don’t hesitate to ask questions if you’re new to the online ordering! My experience was seamless, and I’m happy to brag on them a ton.

Give this apple frangipane tart and try and let me know what you think! Tune in later this week for a pepperminty treat and a last-minute holiday gift guide for the special gals in your life. Happy Baking!

If you like this apple frangipane tart you should try:

Berry Rhubarb Tart

Strawberry Pretzel Tart

Honey Mascarpone Tart

Strawberry Fig Pop-Tarts 

Caramel Apple Pie

 

This post is sponsored by Millesima USA. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that make Wood & Spoon possible. 

 

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