Yesterday I picked up a few apples at the market, so I decided it was time to surprise my Mister with the tasty tart he’d been waiting for.
A few photos before the recipe…
Recipe:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut a circular shape into the puff pastry, place it on a Silpat mat or greased baking sheet, and poke it several times with a fork. Core and peel two apples. Slice thin and layer around the puff pastry. Butter well, and coat with white sugar. Bake until the apples are golden brown. Let’s just say I was having an “oven malfunction” (the door was not closed fully! Bah! I noticed after 20 minutes of baking- it was that kind of day), so I’m not sure what the exact baking time is. Check your tart after 30 minutes, and then in 5-minute intervals. When your tart is golden brown, pull it out and dust with powdered sugar. Caramelize the powdered sugar with a torch (or under the broiler). When the sugar is a deep honey color, scoop out some good ice cream and prepare your mouth for the most luscious tart…EVER.
I cut one piece of the tart to taste and photograph (for the sake of the blog, right?) and all of a sudden, it was gone.
I ate the ENTIRE tart. I couldn’t stop! The sweet caramel from the sugared apples swirled around the vanilla ice cream and danced over the light and flaky pastry, straight into my face. Never have I been so mouth-seduced by baked fruit! 
By the way, I still have yet to make this apple tart for my beloved husband.
Cooking: Gordon Ramsay’s Apple Tart
I was first exposed to Gordon Ramsay’s The F Word when I visited New Zealand in 2007/2008. I was staying in the Skotel (Ski/Hotel) on Mt. Ruapehu, and after a long day of searching for a particular carnivorous plant in the field, my travel companion and I were beat. After a shower and a beer, he was asleep. I clicked on the telly and began to channel surf. A familiar craggy face greeted me in an unfamiliar format. I knew Gordon Ramsay from Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares back home, but this was different, better. The F Word is like a cooking variety show. Gordon brings in a team of (sometimes well-known, sometimes totally average) people with no cooking experience to cook three courses for 50 diners in his F Word restaurant. If the guests don’t like the food, they don’t pay. His trusty “Gob on the Go” Janet Street-Porter enlightens viewers on such topics as the origins and production of British rose veal, whether cruelty-free foie gras tastes any different than traditional cruelty-full foie gras, and whether or not horse is a suitable (and tasty) meat to eat. Gordon and Janet banter playfully in the kitchen, and you find yourself loving her and wanting to smack him when he taunts her about being as old as his own dear mum. There are celebrity cooking challenges, endearing moments as he raises farm animals in his backyard, interviews, side-notes, and more F-bombs than you can shake a stick at. But it’s the BBC, so, F*@! it.
What I really love about this show, is that you can actually learn how to make most of the dishes he serves up in his restaurant. AND if you rent the various seasons from Netflix, many of the recipes are listed in the DVD extras!
So, while watching our latest batch of DVDs (season four) last week, my better half and I took note of an apple tart that looked A.) Delicious B.) EASY and C.) Fast. We’d jotted down other F Word recipes in the past, but this particular recipe was requested by my darling husband moments after watching the episode, and then NIGHTLY for at least seven days.
I found a clip from the F Word episode that brought me to my knees without apology. Watch it, I dare ya!
Wow, that looks good! I’ll have to make mine last long enough for the husband and the kids to try! It may not happen, but I’m giving it a shot! Thanks for sharing.
holy cow, that looks A-mazing! Richard is a crazy fan of Gordon Ramsay. I might just have to make this!!!
YUM! We’ll definitely have to try this. Megan, what blow torch do you recommend? We’ll have to get one of those
I hope you got rid of the evidence before the Mr. got home!
Roxanne
Thank you AFBlogger! Let me know if you ended up sharing- or if you followed in my own greedy footsteps! Haha… I’m not judging you either way. Enjoy!
Awesome Sarah- You should totally make this! And tell Richard to Netflix the F Word. As a fellow Top Gear addict, I think he would enjoy…
MORDYYYYY!!!!!!!!!! So good to hear from you
I would actually recommend a blow torch from the hardware store. No joke. The flame on a standard torch is adjustable, as opposed to the cheap-o one I have (specifically packaged for Brulee, etc…) I may ask Santa for a GIANT torch for Christmas. Hahah
Ahhh Roxanne. I did get rid of the evidence, but my Lutheran guilt had me confessing my sins moments after he walked in the door. Ha. Thankfully, he’s very understanding.
“core. peel. slice. layer. butter. sugar…blowtorch!” Haha! I love Gordon Ramsay! I actually made a recipe of his similar to this, but with pears. My dinner guests thought I was some sort of culinary genius. So needless to say, I am bookmarking this baby for later:)
Haha I know right Andrea? I love how commanding he is with his recipes. This would work soooo well with pears too. You are a culinary genius. Thanks for reading and bookmarking 😉