My Twist on Julia Child's TARTE AUX POMMES

"It is so beautifully arranged on the plate- you know someone's fingers have been all over it."

- Julia Child

First I must apologize for not writing this post sooner- leaving you hanging with an empty pie crust after my Pate Brisee Sucree post a while back. If you recall, I used that gorgeous pie shell in making Julia Child's TARTE AUX POMMES- an apple tarte that can be served hot or cold (I prefer hot). In "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," Julia describes Tarte aux Pommes as a classic French apple tarte that "consists of a thick, well-flavored applesauce spread in a partially cooked pastry shell. Over it thinly sliced apples are placed in an overlapping design of circles. After baking, it is coated with apricot glaze."

I put a little twist on Julia's recipe by replacing the Golden Delicious apples with the "pear apples" (or Chinese White Pears) that I picked up from the produce stands on I-82. The tarte turned out beautifully with the "pear apples" and was unbelievably delicious. It also held longer than regular apples probably would have. However, I would not recommend using them instead of the Golden Delicious apples if I were to make this recipe again, simply because the pear apples are much more tough and grainy, which made them a nightmare to work with.

Once your Pate Brisee Sucree is completed, the next step is to start on your apples. Quarter, core and peel 4 lbs. of apples. Once prepared, cut the apples lengthwise into even 1/8 inch crescent-shaped slices. Immediately after slicing, toss the slices in a mixing bowl with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of sugar. This is to prevent browning.

Here's a tip: Do one apple at a time. I made the mistake of cleaning (quartering, coring, and peeling) all of my apples at once for the sake of a good blog photo and had to go to extra measures to prevent browning.

For the first few apples (enough to make 4 cups worth of slices) make sure your slices are even and beautiful. Take your time on this because these will be the slices that will top your tarte. Toss these in lemon juice and sugar, cover with plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator.

Next, grab a large mixing bowl and repeat this process with the remaining apples. Don't be a Type A perfectionist (like me) here, slicing each apple with meticulous care. You're wasting your time- they will be mush in the end. In this step, I found that 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of sugar weren't enough, so add as you need it. Keep in mind that the slices only need to be lightly coated, not drenched- If drenched, the acid from the lemon juice will make them disintegrate. You should end up with about 8 cups.

Note: I find that in a process like this, having a "trash bowl" (just another large mixing bowl to throw your scraps in) makes life much easier. It keeps you from walking back and forth to the trash can constantly.

Next, place your 8 cups of slices into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, leaving your pretty slices in the fridge- We'll get to them later. Over low heat, cook covered until tender, about 20 minutes, stirring every now and then.

Once the apples are tender, beat in 2/3 cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons of butter, 1/3 cup syrup from a jar of peach preserves, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and the grated rind of 1 lemon and 1 orange.

Note: this is MY spin on this recipe. Where I used 1/3 cup syrup from a jar of peach preserves, Julia says to use 1/3 cup apricot preserves forced through a sieve. I didn't have apricot preserves or a sieve, so I worked with what I had and it turned out just fine. She also notes that you can replace the tablespoon of vanilla extract with 1/4 cup Calvados (apple brandy), rum, or cognac- again, I worked with what I had. Julia lists the cinnamon, lemon rind and orange rind all as optional ingredients, but I used them all and I recommend that you do the same- It's a flavor like nothing you've ever experienced.

Once you've beaten these ingredients together with your cooked apple slices, raise the heat and boil, stirring consistently until your applesauce is thick enough to hold a mass in the spoon. This takes a while, but be patient! It is sooooooooooooooooooooo worth it!

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Grab your cooled Pate Brisee Sucree. Pour your applesauce into the pie shell and smooth over with your spoon or spatula.

Now, here comes the decorative part. Remove your pretty slices from the refrigerator. Starting on the outer edges, cover our applesauce with "a neat, closely overlapping layer of sliced apples arranged in a spiral, concentric circles."

After arranging your slices, bake your tarte in the upper third of your oven for about 30 minutes or until the top layer of apples is slightly browned and tender. Remove tarte from oven and set aside to cool.

If you left the spring-releasing edges of your false-bottomed pan on for this final baking process, carefully set your tarte atop a jar (ALWAYS HOLDING ONTO IT!) and VERY CAREFULLY release the spring sides of the pan, letting them fall to the counter, leaving your tarte on the false bottom atop the jar. Carefully slide your tarte off of the false bottom and onto a cooling rack or serving dish.

At this point, you're supposed to brush your tarte with apricot glaze (recipe available on page 593 of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"), but I simply brought the remainder of my syrup from my peach preserves to a boil and brushed my tarte with that.

Serve warm or cold with FRESH, HOMEMADE whipped cream or creme fraiche. You have worked SO hard on this gorgeous tarte. Topping it with whipped cream from a can would simply be a crime.

This is one of the most time consuming recipes I've ever tried, but I am more proud of my TARTE AUX POMMES than I am of anything else I've ever cooked. As Julia says, "...nothing is too much trouble if it turns out the way it should."