Your house is going to smell amazing when you bake this Simple Puff Pastry Apple Tart! This dessert is every bit as delicious as apple pie, but not having to make a pie crust is a game changer! It’s exactly what fall should taste like!
NOTE: The pictures and narrative in this post were updated in 2018. The recipe is still a favorite and hasn’t changed!
Kids love this dessert!
Carson, my oldest, is always begging me to make him an apple pie. Except he chooses to use the most interesting words when he talks. He doesn’t ask me to bake him an apple pie, or even to make him a pie. Instead, he asks if I will “build” an apple pie for him. I’m not sure where he comes up with these words, but that’s the way he talks.
When your son asks you to “build” him and apple pie there’s a part of you that wants to run in the kitchen and whip that pie up. You know, because you love your kids and you’d do anything for them?
Then there’s that little part of you that wants to tell him to learn to “build” his own apple pie. You know because you want them to be successful adults and be able to do things for themselves. I’m happy to teach him, I just want him to help!
But there’s the reality part of my mind that tells me I don’t have time to make, bake, or build an apple pie regardless of who is helping me. That’s when we say hello to Simple Puff Pastry Apple Tart!
This dessert satisfies his apple pie cravings without needing to know-how, or having enough time, to make a pie crust! He’s a happy boy, and I’m a happy mamma!
Tips on how to use puff pastry
- It’s found in the freezer section, usually near the frozen pies and pie crusts
- Buy it ahead of time and store it in the freezer
- Wrap them in plastic wrap or put them in a sealable bag and lay flat to thaw. It usually takes about 20 minutes letting them sit at room temperature
- Unfold puff pastry. If it has tears gently press them back together. You may need to moisten your fingers with a little water to help it stick together.
- Roll it out on a lightly floured surface.
- Puff pastry can be cut into shapes, slices, squares, circles, or left whole
How to quickly assemble Simple Puff Pastry Apple Tart:
- Make sure puff pastry is thawed
- Roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it’s about an 8″ x 14″ rectangle
- Transfer it to a parchment-lined baking sheet (parchment makes dishes easy and keeps food from sticking to the pan)
- Create a 1/2″ border around the edges of the sheet. Be careful to only cut partway through the sheet. This helps the apple filling to stay in the middle and the outside edge to puff up creating a nice little edge that helps keep the filling inside.
- Brush just inside the border with beaten egg.
- Peel, core, and thinly slice apples. Toss with lemon juice, sugar, spices, and seasonings.
- Arrange apples over the puff pastry.
- Bake
- Drizzle with icing
What are the best apples for baking and eating fresh?
There have been a few questions about how to get the apples without being too crunchy or too soft. Some varieties of apples are better for baking and some are better for eating fresh. It seems like there are more and more multipurpose varieties available than there used to be. I love that because I don’t want to have to buy and store a couple of different kinds of apples, remember which is which, and try to teach my kids which is which. I already feel overwhelmed!
Here are a few of my favorite apples that are great for cooking as well as for eating fresh.
- Honeycrisp
- Fuji
- Gala
- Braeburn
- Golden Delicious
- Pink Lady
Perfect fall desserts!
- Caramel Apple Blondies
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Sliders
- Apple Crisp Cheesecake Bars
- Apple Cider syrup
- Caramel Apple Floats
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- No-Bake Pumpkin Spice Cookies
The other day I went downstairs to see exactly what Carson was doing down there. As soon as I got to the bottom of the stairs I heard him blasting his George Jones CD, yes he listens to super old country music and yes he still has a CD player and loves it! He truly was born a hundred years too late!
“What in the world are you doing down here”, I asked him when I walked through his bedroom door. He informed me, “I’m cleaning up my property!” As I said, I’m not sure where he comes up with these words and I’m not going to complain because I saw his bedroom floor for the first time in a while!
Anyway, enjoy your teenagers and enjoy this super scrumptious Simple Puff Pastry Apple Tart!
Here’s the printable recipe!
Simple Puff Pastry Apple Tart
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 1 egg beaten
- 3 medium-sized baking apples I used Fuji
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- dash salt
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 T. butter
- 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
- Vanilla Frosting
Instructions
- Thaw one sheet of puff pastry until room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Roll out into a 8" x 14" rectangle. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Score edges of puff pastry creating a 1/2 inch border all around the pastry. You don’t want to cut all the way through. Just make a score.
- Brush pastry, inside of border, with beaten egg.
- Peel and slice apples. Toss with lemon juice.
- Melt butter in a mixing bowl. Mix with cinnamon, a dash of salt, and brown sugar. Add to apples and toss together.
- Arrange apples as desired over puff pastry making sure to keep them inside scored border. Pour any remaining brown sugar mixture over apples.
- Bake at 30-35 minutes or until apples are tender and pastry is golden brown.
- Warm vanilla frosting in microwave until it reaches drizzling consistency. Drizzle over tart.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Kathy says
I usually put the puff pastry on the bottom rack to keep from getting soggy, the tart was perfectly crisp. I did not have an egg so I brushed some milk on the pastry edges. Important to cut the apples thinly enough! Thank you for a lovely recipe.
Amy Engberson says
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Using milk instead of an egg is a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing.
Lisa Smith-Paterson says
thanks so much for an amazing easy recipe, we don’t have the vanilla frosting here in Durban, South Africa but served it with ice cream and was enjoyed by all 🙂
Love your website. Thanks
Amy Engberson says
It’s so interesting to hear about what foods aren’t available from other countries. This recipe is delicious with vanilla ice cream! It reminds me of apple pie, just easier!
Carol says
Can you bake this in advance
Amy Engberson says
Yes! The bottom might get a little bit soft as it sits. I almost always make it in advance and we still love it! Store it in the refrigerator until it’s time to serve it. Then microwave to reheat, or serve cold. I love this easy dessert!
joann says
Can I use pears. What kind?
Amy Engberson says
I’ve never tried using pears in this recipe, although I imagine they would work just fine. Bosc and Anjou varieties are both great pears for cooking. Let me know how it turns out!
Mascha Chong says
I tried the recipe but it was a failure. The puff pastry did not rise on the edges. what went wrong?I thought puff pastry needed a higher temperature than 375 fahrenheit
Amy Engberson says
Darn it! I’ve cooked puff pastry at 375 degrees lots of times without any trouble. If you bake this recipe hotter than that the apples won’t have time to cook without overcooking the puff pastry. Sometimes puff pastry won’t puff correctly if it’s too old, or if it’s been thawed and frozen too many times. It’s hard to say exactly why it didn’t work without being there or seeing it. Sorry.
Darby says
Ferocious recipe! I left out the egg but covered the pastry with cream cheese mixed with a little icing sugar before placing the apples on top. I’ve always like cheese with apple pie. Also for the finishing drizzle of icing I used icing sugar mixed with a little fresh lemon juice. It gives it a sweet but tart flavour.
Darby says
Should have said – Delicious recipe! Typo!
Amy Engberson says
Yum! Those sound like amazing variations! I’m a cream cheese lover too. I’m definitely going to give that a try! Thanks for your suggestions!
Lou says
Easy to make, great choice of apples to use. Don’t forget the egg wash on pastry. I did and it didn’t seem to make a difference, tho. Takes very little time to make and is an instant hit! Can be served warm or room temp. Poured a bit of heavy cream over it, not much, and served it room temp. Delicious!
Amy Engberson says
The egg wash gives the pastry a makes gives the crust a nice golden brown finish, which I like! Heavy cream, ice cream, or whipped cream are all great choices for adding to the top! Yummy!
Kary says
I have made the apple tart twice now and found that the center of the tart does not puff up while cooking . Am I missing something?
Amy Engberson says
The center of the tart really usually puff up too much. Sometimes it gets and air bubble and puffs up, but settles after cooking. The edges get nice and puffy which I love!
Diane Zamzok says
There isn’t a recipe for the vanilla frosting
Amy Engberson says
To make this recipe really easy I use a can of vanilla frosting. I’ll clarify that in the recipe card. You could always make your own frosting if you have time! I’ll also add instructions for that in the recipe card! Thanks for pointing that out!
Angela says
Hi Amy,
I’m looking forward to making this, but can you explain why we need TEN images of a simple dessert? Once the ads are inserted, the scrolling takes an e-ter-ni-ty…
Amy Engberson says
Hi Angela! I can’t wait for you to make this dessert because it’s one of my favorites! There are a couple of reasons bloggers add photos of their recipes to the page. First of all, there are quite a few visual readers that enjoy seeing what the recipe is supposed to look like including step by step shots and the finished recipe. Advertising is one of the ways bloggers are compensated for their time. As you can imagine it takes quite a while to create, make, photograph, and write the information for a recipe. It’s one of my favorite hobbies but takes so much time that I need to be compensated for what I’m providing to my readers for free. Advertising is one reason I can keep doing what I love! Also, there is a “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of each post, if you’re not interested in the story behind the recipe, tips on how to successfully make it, or seeing the images you can always bypass all that and skip straight to the printable recipe. Thanks for understanding!
Dave says
Great recipe. First time using pastry. I made individual 6 tarts as had pre rolled bought pastry with two apples not 3. Burnt bottoms as I cooked for 30m when I should’ve prob done 15-20 as they were individual. After scraping bottoms it was still tasty. So lesson learnt: individual tarts = less time in oven.
Amy Engberson says
Individual tarts would be so fun! I love that idea! Yes, if they are smaller they will require a shorter cook time. Great tip!
Kim says
Delicious. It made me think of the holidays. Such warm flavors. And not overally sweet. I used liquid lemon and slightly more than 1/4 cup so I needed a tbsp of flour to slightly thicken. It was wonderful and so simple.
Amy Engberson says
The holidays are the best and it’s fun to be able to feel that special feeling throughout the year! Fresh lemon juice would be even better! Glad you enjoyed them!
Beth R says
I made this puff pastry tart for the first time and will definitely make it again. It’s easy to make and very easy to eat. I put a low layer of whipped topping on my slice and ate it like pizza. It’s got all the apple pie flavors but it’s a relatively “light “dessert.
I used equal parts Honey Crisp and ripened Granny Smiths.
I didn’t have vanilla frosting but did have some caramel ice cream topping which I drizzled sparingly but that up to you.
Other than that I followed the recipe.
The other advantage to this tart is that it only takes 30 min to bake.
Amy Engberson says
I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe! Using caramel ice cream topping is a fantastic idea! I’m glad you loved it!
Laura says
Can I assemble this and bake it later?
Amy Engberson says
If I were making this ahead of time I’d assemble it and bake it ahead of time, then microwave it for a few seconds before serving to make it seem like it just came out of the oven. If you assemble it and don’t bake it the apples will turn brown. Also, as it sits the crust could get a little soggy, although this doesn’t typically happen to me.
Nadia says
Can I make this one day ahead of time
Amy Engberson says
Yes! You can make it a day in advance, although the crust could get a little bit soggy depending on the variety of apples you use. I’ve never had a problem with it though. Enjoy!
Carol says
Would you reheat if made in advance or serve cold with cream or ice cream
Amy Engberson says
Leftovers can be served warm or cold. I personally like to microwave the tart just until it’s warm and top it with vanilla ice cream!