crazy easy apple tart (and strudel)
I firmly believe that everyone can cook. Sure, we all have varying degrees of difficulty we pursue and reach, but I don’t think there is some weird, innate quality which renders people unable to cook. Most of the time when I hear people grouse about failing to produce something in the kitchen, it involves being unable to follow instructions or read things carefully – not some curse which causes culinary failure.
I know personally, baking and desserts is the area I am still working on and attempting to better myself at. Savory cooking can be so much easier – you toss things in, taste for seasoning, add more of this, more of that. Baking and pastry is a science. With careful measuring, following of instructions, etc. Which is why I love this idea to death because it throws all of that out the window and is quite possibly the easiest dessert (and breakfast pastry!) I have ever made.
All you do is take puff pastry, thaw it, slice up an apple, toss it with lemon juice and brown sugar, lay it out, and bake it. That’s it! Practically no measuring, no leaveners, no stand mixer or double boiler – seriously, anyone can make this dessert. (Trust me, try it – I have faith in you!)
Crazy Easy Apple Tart (and Strudel)
Based on the recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks.
When I was making this I realized I had leftover apples and the syrup was so good I sliced up another and made the strudel on the fly. I had the dessert for myself and brought the strudel into work on Monday morning because we all know everyone needs flaky pastry and sweet fruit inside to get them going at the week’s start. The strudel is a bit fancypants compared to the tart just because I use an eggwash and fold the dough over, but seriously, it’s still crazy easy too.
Makes 1 apple tart and 1 apple strudel (or 3 apple tarts).
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed at least 20 minutes and then unfolded
- 2 apples of your choice (I love honeycrisp or pink ladies because of their tart-to-sweet ratio but feel free to use whatever you like or have around), cored, sliced thin
- ½ cup packed brown sugar (dark or light)
- ½ lemon
- Dash of salt
- Optional: 1 egg beaten with 1 TBL water (for egg wash)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 2 baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray or line with a Silpat if you have it.
- While the oven preheats, toss the sliced apples with the lemon juice, brown sugar, and salt. Use your hands to toss them and make sure they’re evenly coated. Let sit a bit and they should produce a good amount of liquid which becomes syrupy.
- Cut the puff pastry into 2 sections, following the seams so you have a piece that’s 1/3 and the other is 2/3 the sheet.
- Lay the apples out in a neat row on the 1/3 sheet, layering them on top of eachother as you go. Drizzle some of the syrup on top and pop in the oven.
- Bake 18-20 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and toasted and the whole kitchen smells of apples.
- Serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, powdered sugar, a sprinkle of cinnamon, or all of the above.
For the strudel: Do the same thing you did for the tart, only this time, fold the other half of the puff pastry over and pinch the edges so it’s closed. Brush with the egg wash and bake the same amount of time. Enjoy for breakfast with some good coffee.
