Giving thanks

Thanksgiving this year came at the perfect time.

After a crazy summer and a lightning-fast September, it was lovely to have the chance to rest and to spend a few lazy days enjoying the Haligonian sunshine.


I was fortunate enough to be invited to three Thanksgiving dinners this year, and spent much of the long weekend in the company of friends, new and old. One of the things that I love most about Thanksgiving is the culture and spirit of sharing, the knowledge that everyone at the table has contributed in some small way, material or otherwise, to the meal. Our contribution to the third and final dinner was a French apple tart, elegant in its buttery simplicity. The puff pastry (truly wonderful stuff) flakily supports sweet layers of thinly sliced early fall apple, glazed over with salted caramel; served with Madagascar bourbon vanilla ice cream, is as decadent as it is demure. The perfect finish to a rich turkey meal, and a last hurrah to the vestiges of an east cost Indian summer.


French apple tart with salted caramel glaze
From here

Ingredients
Tart
 - 1 450g package butter puff pastry, thawed overnight in the fridge
- 3 medium-sized Mackintosh apples
- 2 tbsp cold butter, in small cubes
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar

Salted caramel glaze
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/8 tsp table salt
- 2 tbsp  heavy cream

Active time: 30 min
Bake time: 40 min
Total time: 1 hr 30 min

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a 10x15 tray with parchment paper

2. Lightly flour the counter and lay out the thawed puff pastry. Gently roll out the pastry until it fits into the lined pan.

3. Peel and core the apples. Slice the apples as thinly as possible with a kitchen knife - aim for a thickness of about 1 /16 inches. Fan the apple slices out over the tart surface, leaving 1/2 inch on all sides of the tart. Overlap the apples in such a way that 3/4 of each apple slice is exposed.

4. Sprinkle 2 tbsp sugar evenly across the surface of the tart, then dot the surface of the tart evenly with 2 tbsp cold cubed butter.

5. Bake the tart for 30 minutes; if the puff pastry begins to bubble up too much, poke it to deflate.

6. After about 20 minutes, make the salted caramel glaze. Melt the sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook until it is a rich copper color, about 5 minutes.

7. Remove caramel from heat and stir in the butter. When it is has all been incorporated, mix in the cream and the salt.

8. Return the caramel to medium heat and cook for an additional 2-5 minutes, until the caramel has turned a luscious shade of golden-brown. Remove from heat and set aside.

9. When the tart has finished baking, remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack; leave the oven on.

10. Being careful not to disrupt the pattern, spread the glaze over the tart evenly; include the edges of the tart.

11. Return the tart to the oven and bake for a final 5-10 minutes, until the caramel is bubbling over the tart surface.

12. Remove the tart from the oven, transfer to a cooling rack, and allow it to cool completely.

13. Slice and serve alone, with whipped cream, or with ice cream (my favorite).


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