Vive la France!

Right when I feel like I'm off my game, it comes back around.

Voila! Une tarte aux pommes.

This better get me an A+ in french.

Tarte aux Pommes
adapted from the one and only Julia Child
Makes one 10-inch tart

Crust from Gluten Free Canteen

125 grams brown rice flour
75 grams gluten-free oat flour
50 grams white rice flour
50 grams tapioca starch
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
114 grams ice cold unsalted butter
86 grams ice cold shortening
100 grams of ice water, more or less

Due to the fact that I have a wimpy food processor, I make my pie crusts the old fashioned way.

Whisk together flours, starch, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter and shortening with a pastry cutter. Once the mix looks like little peas, gradually add water a couple tablespoons at a time. It's best to mix the dough with your hands. Once it holds form and isn't too crumbly, pat into a disk and chill for half an hour or so.

Preheat the oven to 350 while the dough chills.

Roll out the dough until it's roughly an 1/8 of an inch. Press into a 10-inch tart pan and prick the bottom crust with a fork. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Filling

4 pounds of baking apples (I used gala)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup apricot preserves
1/4 cup brandy, rum, or cognac (1 teaspoon vanilla extract if you're a twenty-year-old)
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons lemon zest

apricot glaze (see below)

Peel and core the apples. Slice into 1/8 inch thickness. Toss three cups worth with lemon juice and sugar in a bowl and set aside.

Place the rest of the apples in a large sauce pan. Cover and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes. Add apricot preserves, alcohol (or vanilla), sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Mash together until it has an applesauce-like texture. Bring to a mild boil and remove from heat.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Pour the applesauce mixture into the half baked tart shell. Arrange the sliced apples over the surface. Bake for half an hour, or until apples edge are golden brown.

Apricot Glaze

1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons sugar

Combine sugar and preserves in a small sauce pan. Simmer for five minutes until heated through. Brush over tart when its fresh from the oven.

Hate to toot my own horn, but je suis la merde.