Rustic French Apple Tart

Create a delightful Rustic French Apple Tart recipe with ease and my favorite recipe as delicious and simple as the traditional classic apple tart recipe.

Thinly sliced apples, arranged in a beautiful pattern, sit atop a buttery, and flaky crust. Sprinkle with sugar and bake to golden perfection for a perfect sweet and tangy flavor.

Why you'll love this recipe

A rustic apple tart recipe also called rustic apple galette is a free-form tart in a simpler and more casual version of a traditional apple pie, with the dough folded over the edges of the filling, giving it a rustic and uneven appearance.

The beauty of a rustic apple galette lies in the simplicity and its imperfections of its hand-folded crust in a visually appealing dessert that celebrates the natural flavors of fresh apples in a delightful way.

This old-fashioned style apple tart can be made with various apple varieties and is often served warm and can be enjoyed on its own or accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of salted caramel sauce.

More apple recipes

Composition and substitutions

Here is an overview of the ingredients and possible substitutions to make this delicious rustic French apple tart at home, scroll down to see the quantities in the recipe card.

Pie Crust

Shortcrust pastry is a perfect pie crust for all fruit tart and pie recipes. It is a very easy recipe to make in both savory and sweet versions.

You can also substitute a puff pastry as in this recipe for puff pastry apple tart.

Applesauce filling

Homemade applesauce is an easy recipe to make if you have a little time. All you need to do is slowly cook the apples with a bit of lemon juice and a pinch of ground cinnamon until you get a delicious compote. Otherwise just take an organic applesauce in a jar.

Apples

For the apple tart, use Gala, Golden Delicious or Granny Smith apples with juicy and sweet flesh. Sliced apples with the skin as here (especially for the visual) or completely peel the apples.

You will find the quantities and instructions in the recipe card further down on this page.

How to make Easy Rustic Apple Tart

Pie crust

• Place flour, salt, icing sugar, and unsalted cold butter in a medium bowl.
• Using your fingers, mix all the ingredients together until you have a sandy mixture with no lumps.
• Add the cold water and mix again until the pie dough forms a ball, but do not over-knead it.
• Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Tip: You can also make the dough directly in a food processor just like a classic butter pie crust.

Assembly

• Roll dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured work surface or between 2 sheets of parchment paper to a thickness of 3 mm thick, trying to make a round shape.
• Place the pastry disk on a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cover the entire surface with apple mixture sauce, leaving a 2-inch border / 5 cm.
• Arrange the apple slices on top of the applesauce in the center.
• Fold the edges of the dough over the apples and sprinkle brown sugar over the entire tart.

Tip: You can replace the applesauce with a layer of almond cream (frangipane) for an even tastier tart.

Baking

• Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C and bake the apple pie galette for about 35-40 minutes until the crust is golden brown on top and the apples are tender.
• Allow the apple galette to cool completely before placing it on a large serving plate.
• Serve cold or slightly warm, depending on your preference with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, fresh whipped cream or a bit of salted caramel sauce.

Servings Suggestions

This rustic apple galette is delicious with a sweet topping, here are some topping ideas to serve with your tart:

• Salted Caramel Sauce
• Hot Chocolate Sauce
• Vanilla ice cream
• Pecans or crushed almonds
• Homemade whipped cream

Storage and Tips

In the fridge: Store rustic apple tart only in the fridge covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container for about 3-4 days.

How to freeze? When the apple galette is completely cooled, you can store it in the freezer for up to 3 months, well-wrapped in plastic wrap or in a storage bag.

Thawing: Let it thaw gently in the fridge overnight or use the thaw function on your microwave.

Replace apples with strawberries, as in this strawberry galette, with plums, nectarines, peaches or pears.

Add a layer of almond cream filling between the crust and the fruit, as in this recipe for rustic pear almond tart.

Frequently asked questions

You will also love

• French Strawberry tart
• Salted caramel chocolate tart
• Almond rhubarb tart
• French Crepes
• French Fraisier cake

Did you like this recipe? Don't forget to rate it and leave me a review in comments! And to not miss any recipes follow @sweetlycakes on Instagram and tag me to share it if you make this recipe 😊!

Print