French Thin Apple Tart Crisp & Caramelized recipe

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A thin apple tart is a French bakery and home-cooking classic. It consists of a flat disc of pie or puff pastry with no raised border, topped with neatly arranged thin apple slices and baked until golden.
Tarte fine aux pommes, as we call it in French, is minimalist though elegant. Every bite delivers crispy pastry, tender apples, and a caramelized flavor.

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French thin apple tart quick and easy recipe

You can find tarte fine / thin apple tart aux pommes in many boulangeries and bakeries in Paris and across France, but it’s easy to make at home. It’s a dessert French home cooks make very often.

Different French apple tarts

In France, there are wide varieties of apple tarts. It goes from this recipe, which I love because it’s so quick and easy, crisp and caramelized, with only a few ingredients and steps.

Other ways to bake apple tart in France are;

The iconic tarte Tatin, an upside-down, caramelized apple tart.
The Norman-style tart with fluffy egg and cream custard filling flavored with vanilla and calvados (that can be replaced with brandy)
The Alsatian custard apple tart
Another quite similar to this one, but with apple sauce between the pie crust and the apples.
Galettes that we call tarte rustique, rustic tart in France
And any French home cook’s personal recipe. In France, we say there are as many different recipes as there are families.

Why you’ll love baking this thin apple tart

It only uses a few ingredients: pie pastry, apples, butter, and sugar.
It’s quick. It takes about 15 minutes to prepare. The longest part is peeling and slicing the apples. It bakes quickly, about 30 minutes.
It’s family-friendly. Peeling, slicing, and arranging the apples on the pie pastry is a fun moment to share with your children.
No tart pan is needed. Just lay a sheet of parchment paper on your oven tray to suit any equipment you have.
The texture contrast: crisp caramelized pastry and fragrant soft apples.

Which apple to choose for this thin apple tart?

It’s the same as the other apple tarts: choose an apple variety with flesh that doesn’t soften too much or fall apart when cooked. For example, Reine de Reinette, a classic French apple, or Golden, Pink Lady, Boskoop, Granny Smith, Braeburn, Jonagold…

I recommend choosing only one variety, not mixing several, for an even look and taste.

Which pie pastry is better for this thin apple tart?

Puff pastry is often recommended. In France, you can find ready-made puff pastry easily in supermarkets and at some bakeries that are good and affordable. It gives a much better, fluffier, crispier pastry.

I tend to use a sweet shortcrust pie pastry for this recipe. It’s my personal preference. It’s all a matter of taste.

Any shape is, of course, possible: round, rectangular, square. Or why don’t you try small individual tarts?

How to make this thin apple tart with all my tips

Choose your pie pastry: puff pastry, sweet shortcrust pastry, or pâte sucrée as you like. Make it homemade or buy it at the store. This is a no-fuss dessert, so don’t feel ashamed to use store-bought. Actually the French use that a lot. If so, prefer pure butter (pur beurre).
Lay a parchment paper on your oven baking tray and lay the pie pastry on it. Eventually, form a little edge all around.
Peel and slice apples. Make thin slices about 3 mm (1/8 inch), either with a mandoline or a sharp knife. Arrange apples on your pie pastry. Cover the pastry completely with no gaps.
You can also make rows with half-cut apples, sliced and reshaped into half apples; that’s quite neat. Do whatever you want as long as you cover your pastry.
Butter: put a few knobs of butter here and there. It will ooze out in the oven.
Sprinkle brown sugar. Any sugar works but brown sugar gives a much more caramelized taste.
You can flavor your brown sugar with cinnamon or vanilla for example.
Then bake at 180°C / 350°F for about half an hour.
Serve with vanilla ice-cram or, my husband’s favorite, with a generous scoop of cream.

Do I need to glaze or not glaze?

That’s also a matter of personal taste. Opinions differ. I’m a no-glaze person.

Glazing means warming apricot jam (or apple or quince jelly) with a bit of water, and brushing it over the baked apple tart. A bit of this liquid gives it a glossy look and sweet texture.
The French for this technique is abricoter. The apple tart will not only shine, but the glaze also prevents it from drying out too quickly.

I prefer it unglazed. I think that butter and sugar alone are quicker and less sweet.
Apple tart is already very fragrant. No need to add more sugar. And the apple tart never lasts long at my house, so there’s no risk of it drying out!

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