Ingredients
Scale
Crust
- 1/4 cup unsalted grass-fed butter or unrefined coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 egg or 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flaxmeal soaked in 2 tablespoons water for 10 mins)
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (1/8 teaspoon if using salted butter)
Filling
- 10 medium apples (~ 5 lbs), peeled, cut into quarters, and cored
- 3 tablespoons unsalted grass-fed butter or coconut oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons water (or more as needed)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup apricot preserves, divided
Topping
- Whipped cream, whipped coconut cream, vanilla ice cream, or dairy-free coconut ice cream
Instructions
- Prepare pan. Lightly oil 9-10 inch metal tart pan or ceramic tart dish with fluted edges. Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Prepare tart dough. In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter or oil, coconut sugar, and egg or flax egg. Stir in almond flour and sea salt with a wooden spoon. Dough will resemble cookie dough. Press dough evenly into the bottom of the tart pan and at least halfway up the fluted edges. Place tart pan on a sheet pan and bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool, but keep the tart pan on the sheet pan because it will need to be baked again after the fruit filling is added.
- Prepare apples. Slice each apple quarter into 4-5 slices (they will resemble crescent moons). Place in a large bowl and quickly rinse with cold water and drain (this will prevent apples from browning).
- Make the applesauce filling. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons butter or oil. Add about half of the apples (including any broken slices as the apples will get mashed), 5 tablespoons apricot preserves, and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Sauté about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon water, cover, turn heat to low, and let apples steam until soft enough to mash, about 10-15 minutes (depending on hardness of apples). Mash apples in the pan with a potato masher or purée in a food processor until smooth. Remove apple purée to a bowl and rinse out skillet.
- Make the apple topping. Heat large skillet again over medium heat with remaining tablespoon of butter or oil. Add other half of apple slices being careful not to break any of the slices. Add 1 tablespoon water and gently toss the apples to coat in the butter or oil. Cover and steam until apples are pliable (bendable) but not too soft or mushy, about 5-7 minutes. Toss apples every now and then to evenly cook. Turn heat down and/or add another tablespoon of water if needed to prevent burning.
- Assemble the tart. Spread applesauce filling evenly over the bottom of the tart crust. Starting at the outer edge of crust, arrange the apple slices (starting with the largest slices), tightly overlapping, in concentric circles. When you get to the middle of the tart, bend a few of the smaller apple slices to fit in the center. It will look like the center of a flower.
- Bake the tart. Gently cover edges of tart with strips of aluminum foil to protect the crust from burning. Bake tart (on sheet pan) on lower rack of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven.
- Brown the top. Place oven rack near the top of the oven (probably the 2nd from the top). Preheat broiler for a few minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining apricot preserves in a small saucepan or skillet over low heat until warmed. Remove from heat and brush the surface of the apple slices (but not the crust) evenly with jam. Place tart (on sheet pan) under broiler. Check every 30 seconds and rotate tart pan as needed to brown the edges of some of the apples. Do not leave unattended because the tart can quickly burn! Remove from oven when you get some attractive browning on the apples.
- Cool tart completely. Using a large metal spatula, gently slide tart pan onto wire rack to cool for at least 1 1/2 hours.
- Serve slices with a dollop of whipped cream, whipped coconut cream, or vanilla ice cream.
