This Apple Tart has a hidden layer of delicious homemade almond paste underneath the apples. It is a wonderful dessert for Fall and will for sure be a hit at any of your holiday dinner parties.
Now that November is in full swing, let’s talk about Thanksgiving and the most important dish, PIE, or in this case, apple tart with almond paste filling! What did you think it was??? My meal always starts with dessert! And I leave the difficult task of roasting a delicious turkey to Ryan. I can barely lift the darn thing, let alone cook it. But pie, pie is my life!
For the past couple years, we’ve been hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our house for my family. I really wish I could share everything we make with you guys, but I think it is not possible in one post, or even in one week. And that means we’ll have to convince Ryan to write up a few posts 😉 cuz turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potato, those are definitely not within my expertise. However, this apple tart with almond paste filing is!
I know a tart is not quite a pie… But it is a cousin, and it is so good that I’m totally considering forgoing the traditional two crusts apple pie for this apple tart at Thanksgiving. Or maybe I’ll just make both, that’ll keep everyone happy, won’t it? I kind of love that this tart is so much easier to make than a pie, peeling and slicing only a few apples versus a whole basket, not that I mind once the pie is all done and I’m digging into it with a serving of ice cream on the side.
I made this tart with a layer of almond paste at the bottom and a layer of apple on top. I’ve had this on my list for a while since almond paste/marzipan is Ryan’s favorite sweet thing. Whenever I make something with almond paste/marzipan, it tends to not get shared around too much… You can make this tart using the store bought version, I usually buy Odense Almond Paste, since it’s always available at the store. Or you can make your own almond paste, recipe to follow below. It’s so easy, once you make it, you can’t stop making more and putting it in everything!
Love Almond Paste? Check out These Recipes!
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- MARZIPAN FILLED RUGELACH
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Apple Tart with Almond Paste Filling Recipe
Apple Tart with Almond Paste Filling
Ingredients
For crust:
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 oz unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon cold water
For almond paste:
- 1 cup almond meal/flour
- ½ cup powder sugar
- 1 egg white
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
For apple topping:
- 2 large honey crisp apples (or 4 small ones)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter - melted
Instructions
- For almond paste, add almond meal, sugar, egg white, almond extract and salt to a bowl, mix well until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Almond paste can be prepared well in advance and store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
- For the crust, place flour, sugar and salt in the food processor fitted with the dough blade and pulse a few times to mix.
- Cube the butter and add to the flour mixture. Make sure butter is cold. Pulse several times until butter is about pea size and mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough starts to pull together. Be mindful not to overmix, you still want chunks of butter in the dough to create a flaky crust.
- Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic and rest in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Roll dough out into a circle about ¼” thick and large enough to fit your tart pan. Transfer the dough to your tart pan and lightly press into the bottom and sides. Let the extra dough hang off the edge, then take your rolling pin and press along the edge of the pan to take off the extra dough.
- Cover the dough in plastic and place in the freezer.
- Move your oven rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400°F.
- Peel and cut apples into ⅛” thick slices.
- When the oven is ready, take the crust out of the freezer. Take the almond paste, lightly spread and press it to the bottom of the crust so it covers the entire surface.
- Arrange the apple slices on top of the almond paste. Brush the melted butter all over the apples. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle on top.
- Bake for 50 minutes.
- Let cool on a wire rack before serving.
Nutrition
The almond paste recipe is based on Bob’s Red Mill’s.
Can I make the crust & almond filling the day before and leave it in the fridge? Or would you suggest I cover it and put it in the freezer until I slice the apples and bake tomorrow?
Either way is fine. Since the filling is not liquidy, this recipe is very forgiving. You can assemble the crust and almond filling ahead of time and freeze or refrigerate.
Does the tart dough have to be made using a food processor. I don’t have a dough paddle on mine. Would a mixer with dough paddle work? cant pulse though..
You can use mixer with paddle or you can even use your hand, it’s very similar to making biscuits if you don’t use a machine. The main purpose is to “cut” the butter into the flour so there are still traces of it instead of completely mix. Does that help?
What size tart pan did you use?
8″
Just had a slice of this tart after spending the morning making it and I’m over the moon with how well it turned out. The homemade almond paste is such a lovely addition, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to a plain apple tart or galette ever again. Thanks for sharing this one!
Yay! So happy to hear you love this recipe 🙂
This recipe looks really good. One question. I do not eat eggs and milk. What can I substitute the egg with please?
Thanks
Hey Cindy, I’ve never used egg substitute before but I know people uses aquabafa (canned chickpea liquid) as egg white substitute, I think it might work in this recipe for the almond paste. One egg white is about 30 grams if you plan to make the substitution. Or you can buy store-bought almond paste by Odense, it looks like it is not made with egg.
I have almond paste already (so how much would i use for this recipe) if I’m not making it? Thank you in advance for your help!
Hi Gina, for this recipe, use between 7 – 8 oz of almond paste.
Can I make this the day before I serve it?
Yes, certainly. This will keep overnight at room temperature or 3 – 5 days refrigerated.
Can I make it with puff pastry instead? Thank you
The texture of the tart pastry won’t be the same but the idea should definitely work. When you do this, make sure you place the puff pastry in the tart pan and then freeze it, it will make it easier to spread the almond paste on top. Make sure to punch some steam vents at the bottom of the puff pastry before you fill it. I’d love to see a picture when you make it 🙂
This pie looks so stunning, the way you’ve arranged the apples. And I love the idea of almond paste in there as well. It sounds like a perfect combination.
Homemade almond paste sounds amazing as does this tart!
Thanks Aimee!
What a beautiful tart! I would be so proud of my creation, I wouldn’t want anyone to eat it!
Thanks Jessica! Actually my cousin didn’t want to be the one to cut into it last year LOL
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I don’t see any oven temperature. It says to spread the almond paste over the bottom crust. Might it be easier to roll it out to a round and just lay it in there? Would that work?
Maggie, temperature is specified in step 8, 400F. The homemade almost paste is very sticky, it is not formed like a dough that you can roll out easily. However, if you use premade almond paste that comes in a tube, rolling it out would definitely be the way to go.
this tart is gorgeous!
What a beautiful apple tart! I love the addition of almond paste, and I never knew how easy it was to make it myself!
Thank you Kristine, almond paste is so easy, you can make it in your sleep. And I didn’t realize that either until I started searching for how to make it!
Beautiful tart and the recipe sounds like perfection, almond paste sounds delicious!
Thanks Christina!