Irresistible Brown Butter Apple Tart: A Savory Twist for Brunch and Beyond

Prepare to elevate your dessert game with a twist on a classic: this exquisite Brown Butter Apple Tart. While traditional apple tarts often lean heavily into sweetness, this recipe, adapted from the brilliant Phyllis Grant on Food52, offers a delightful departure. It’s remarkably not too sweet, boasting an almost savory depth that makes it exceptionally versatile. Imagine it gracing your brunch table, perhaps alongside an assortment of fine cheeses and a crisp, vibrant green salad – a truly elegant culinary experience.

Crafting the Perfect Crust: Convenience Meets Quality

Life often moves at a fast pace, and sometimes, time is a luxury we don’t have in the kitchen. This is precisely why I often opt for a prepared refrigerated pie crust when making this apple tart. It’s a fantastic shortcut that doesn’t compromise the overall quality of the dish, allowing you to enjoy a homemade-tasting tart without the extensive prep time.

Homemade vs. Store-Bought: Your Choice

Of course, for those who relish the art of pastry making and have a preferred pie dough recipe (and the time to dedicate to it), a homemade crust will undoubtedly add another layer of bespoke charm. The effort of creating a flaky, buttery crust from scratch can be incredibly rewarding. If you’re looking for an excellent foundation, I highly recommend exploring recipes like this one for a buttery homemade crust – it truly looks amazing and is worth the endeavor if your schedule allows.

Exploring Alternative Crusts: Puff Pastry for Lightness

For a different texture altogether, consider using frozen puff pastry. This option provides a wonderfully light, airy, and crisp foundation for your apple tart. Its delicate layers, when baked, create a beautiful contrast to the tender apples and rich brown butter, making for a truly impressive presentation with minimal fuss. Whichever crust you choose, ensure it’s handled properly to achieve that desirable golden-brown, crisp finish.

The Heart of the Flavor: Brown Butter, Vanilla, and Rosemary

The secret to the subtle yet profound savory flavor that defines this treat lies in its unique dressing. It’s not just butter; it’s *brown butter*. This culinary technique transforms ordinary butter into a rich, nutty, and aromatic ingredient that adds an unparalleled depth to any dish. The browned milk solids create complex flavor notes that perfectly complement the sweetness of apples without making the tart overly sugary.

Aromatic Depth: Vanilla Bean and Fresh Rosemary

To further enhance this exquisite flavor profile, the dressing incorporates vanilla. If you have access to a fresh vanilla bean, I highly recommend using its seeds. The pure, intense aroma and flavor of fresh vanilla are truly incomparable. However, if a vanilla bean isn’t readily available, a teaspoon of high-quality vanilla extract will still impart a wonderful warmth to the mix.

But what truly elevates this tart from simply delicious to absolutely extraordinary is that “hint of rosemary.” This often-underestimated herb, when used judiciously, adds a fragrant, piney, and slightly peppery note that beautifully contrasts and enhances the sweetness of the apples and the nuttiness of the brown butter. It’s a surprising yet harmonious addition that takes the flavor profile right over the top, making each bite an intriguing experience.

Baking to Perfection: Smart Tips for a Crisp Tart

A truly exceptional tart boasts a crust that is not only flavorful but also wonderfully crisp. The key to achieving this desirable texture lies in preheating your baking sheet. By placing a cold tart onto a hot surface, you initiate a rapid cooking process for the bottom crust, preventing it from becoming soggy and ensuring a perfectly golden, flaky base.

The Foil Trick: Your Secret to Easy Cleanup

Now, allow me to offer some invaluable advice that will save you considerable time and effort in the kitchen: completely cover your baking sheet with aluminum foil *before* preheating it. While your prepared tart will rest on a piece of parchment paper when it goes into the oven, the realities of baking in a very hot environment mean that some of that delicious, sugary apple syrup will almost certainly ooze out onto the pan. If this sticky syrup bakes directly onto your pan, you’ll be faced with the arduous task of cleaning burnt sugar – a challenge no one enjoys.

With the simple addition of foil, however, cleanup becomes a breeze. Once your glorious tart is out of the oven and cooled, you can simply strip away the foil, along with any baked-on syrup mess, and toss it straight into the trash. This little trick transforms what could be a frustrating chore into a quick and easy post-baking step, allowing you to focus on enjoying your culinary creation.

Selecting and Preparing Your Apples

For this recipe, I typically use about seven medium-sized Granny Smith apples, weighing roughly 6.5 ounces each. Granny Smiths are an excellent choice due to their firm texture and tartness, which holds up beautifully during baking and provides a lovely counterpoint to the richer flavors of the brown butter and rosemary. Other firm, tart apple varieties like Honeycrisp or Braeburn could also work well.

The Apple Dilemma: To Peel or Not to Peel?

When preparing your apples, you have a choice regarding the skin. If you opt to leave the skin on, it will brown significantly in the hot oven, lending a rustic appearance and providing a delightful additional texture and visual definition to the final presentation. This approach also preserves more of the apple’s natural fiber and nutrients.

However, if you prefer a softer, more uniform texture in your tart, then go ahead and peel those apples before slicing. Regardless of whether you peel them or not, it is crucial to slice the apples very thinly. This ensures they cook quickly and evenly, becoming tender and caramelized within the baking time of the tart. Aim for slices that are almost translucent for the best results.

Expert Tips for Perfect Apple Slices (and Dealing with Scraps)

While we’re on the subject of apple slices, the original author of this fantastic recipe offers some practical wisdom. To create those beautiful, uniform apple circles that make for an artful tart top, you will inevitably need to sacrifice at least half of each apple. Don’t let these precious scraps go to waste! Plan on using them for a delicious apple compote, a quick snack, or even julienne them right away, toss with a little lemon juice to prevent browning, and save them for a fresh salad later. Alternatively, if perfect circles aren’t your priority, feel free to use more of the apple in less uniform shapes – the tart will still taste magnificent. The choice is entirely up to your aesthetic preference and desire for efficiency.

The Grand Finale: A Luminous Apricot Glaze

Once your exquisite brown butter apple tart emerges from the oven, golden and fragrant, there’s one final touch that truly perfects its appearance and flavor: a delicate apricot glaze. A thin layer of warmed apricot jam, spread gently over the baked apples, imparts a beautiful, glossy sheen that makes the tart visually irresistible. Beyond its aesthetic appeal, this glaze also provides the slightest, subtle hint of added sweetness and a fruity tang, complementing the savory notes of the brown butter and rosemary without overpowering them. It’s the ideal finish to a truly magnificent dessert.

Serving Your Masterpiece

This brown butter apple tart is a showstopper, and while it’s fantastic on its own, a few accompaniments can truly complete the experience. It is absolutely delicious served warm, allowing the flavors to meld beautifully and the aromas to fill the air. For a touch of classic indulgence, top it with a dollop of freshly whipped cream, its cool richness providing a delightful contrast to the warm, spiced apples. Alternatively, a scoop of creamy vanilla bean ice cream melting gently over the tart offers a luxurious combination of temperatures and textures. For that brunch setting, consider pairing slices with a strong cup of coffee or even a light sparkling wine, letting its savory undertones shine through. No matter how you choose to serve it, this tart promises to be a memorable treat.

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french brown butter apple tart

Adapted from Food52

Servings 6 to 8 servings

Author Rosemary Stelmach

Ingredients

• 1
  single crust recipe of your favorite pie or tart dough
  (or refrigerated prepared pie crust)
• 6
  to 8 Granny Smith apples
• 3
  tablespoons
  salted butter
• 1/2
  vanilla bean, halved & scraped of its seeds
• 1/2
  teaspoon
  pure vanilla extract
• 1
  teaspoon
  chopped fresh rosemary
• 1
  egg
• 3
  tablespoons
  heavy cream
• 4
  tablespoons
  turbinado sugar
• 3
  tablespoons
  apricot jam, with any large chunks of fruit finely chopped

Instructions

1. Take your dough out of the fridge 20 minutes before rolling it out (or 1 hour before if it’s in the freezer).

2. Preheat your oven to 450° F.  Fully cover a sheet pan (measuring at least 12 1/2-inches in width) with foil and place the pan in the oven to heat up.  

3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Swirl it around a few times. It will foam and spatter. After 3 to 4 minutes, it will start to smell nutty. Don’t walk away. It’s ready when the sizzling quiets down and you see little brown bits drop to the bottom of the pan. Cool slightly. Whisk in the vanilla bean seeds, vanilla extract, and chopped rosemary.

4. Cut a piece of parchment paper that’s about a 12-inch square.  Roll out your dough into about a 12-inch round.  It doesn’t need to be perfect — you’re going to fold over the edges.  Roll dough onto your rolling pin.  Unroll dough onto the piece of parchment.

5. Using a very sharp knife or a mandoline, with the apple stem facing north, very thinly slice about 5 circles off of two opposing sides of the apple.  Stop once you hit the core.  Repeat with the remaining apples.  Save remaining apple and the outermost discs with lots of skin for applesauce or some other use.

6. Starting about 2 inches in from the border of the rolled out dough, make a circle with the apple discs, having them overlap considerably.  Continue with a second layer that overlaps the larger circle.  Do a third and smaller circle.  And a fourth.  Finish it off with a few discs in the middle creating a flower pattern.  Paint all exposed apple surface with the brown butter vanilla rosemary mixture.  Fold the outer border of the dough in to enclose about half of the exterior edge of the outermost apple discs.  It can be creased and uneven to give it a rustic appearance.

7. Whisk together egg and heavy cream.  Paint exposed border of dough with a thin layer of egg wash.  Refrigerate any leftover egg wash and save for your next tart or pie (it will last a few days).  Generously sprinkle the turbinado sugar all over the apples and the egg-washed dough.

8. Carefully and quickly slide the tart (keeping it on the parchment) onto the preheated sheet pan.  Bake until apples are golden brown and the crust is crisp about 20 to 25 minutes

9. Warm up the apricot jam.  Using a pastry brush, paint surface of the cooked apples with the warm jam.  Serve immediately.

This Brown Butter Apple Tart is more than just a dessert; it’s a culinary experience that plays with your expectations and delights your palate with its nuanced flavors. The savory depth from the browned butter and rosemary, combined with the subtle sweetness of the apples and vanilla, makes it a truly distinctive dish. Whether you’re hosting a sophisticated brunch or simply craving an elegant treat, this tart is sure to impress. Don’t be afraid to experiment with your crust choice or apple preparation; the core flavors remain robust and captivating. Enjoy the process of creating this beautiful and delicious tart!