French Apple Tart

Ingredients

Sweet Pastry Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup room temperature unsalted butter
• 1 large egg

For the Apple Filling:

• 5 medium-sized apples (2 pounds) (Granny Smith or other firm textured apple)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1/4-1/2 cup granulated white sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Confectioners' sugar for browning the top of the tart

For the Glaze:

• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• 1 tablespoon Cognac, Calvados, Rum or Water

Directions

1. Sweet Pastry Crust: Place the butter in your mixer and beat until softened. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg, beating just until incorporated. (Don't over mix or the butter will separate and lighten in color.) Add flour and salt and mix just until it forms a ball. (Don't overwork or pastry will be hard when baked.) Flatten dough into disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate about one hour or until firm.
2. Have ready an 8-9 inch tart pan with removable bottom. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into an 11-12 inch circle that is about 1/8 inch thick. To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll (always roll from the center of the pastry outwards to get uniform thickness). 
3. When the pastry is the desired size, lightly roll pastry around your rolling pin, dusting off any excess flour as you roll. Unroll onto top of tart pan. Never pull pastry or you will get shrinkage (shrinkage is caused by too much pulling of the pastry when placing it in the pan). Gently lay in pan and with a small floured piece of pastry, lightly press pastry into bottom and up sides of pan. Roll your rolling pin over top of pan to get rid of excess pastry. With a thumb up movement, again press dough into pan. Prick bottom of dough (this will prevent the dough from puffing up as it bakes). Cover and refrigerate for about 20 minutes to chill the butter and to rest the gluten.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and place rack in center of oven. Line the unbaked pastry shell with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Fill tart pan with pie weights or beans, making sure the weights are to the top of the pan and evenly distributed over the entire surface. Bake crust for 20 to 25 minutes until crust is dry and lightly browned. Remove weights and cool crust on wire rack. 
5. For Apple Tart: For bottom layer of apples: Peel, core, and slice two of the apples. In a large skillet melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and stir in between 2-4 tablespoons of the sugar, the lemon zest, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Add the apples and saute over moderate heat, stirring occasionally for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the apples are soft. Gently mash the apples with the back of a spatula or spoon and stir the mixture until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool. Mix in eggs, cream, vanilla and flour. Set aside.
6. For top layer of apples: Peel, core, and cut the remaining three apples into slices 1/4 inch thick. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat and stir in the other 2-4 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Add the apples and saute until they begin to soften, approximately 5 minutes. Set the cooked apples aside.
7. Spoon the applesauce mixture into the cooled pre-baked tart shell. Arrange the apple slices in concentric circles over the applesauce, and brush with 1-2 tablespoons melted butter. Bake the tart on a baking sheet in a preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 25-30 minutes or until the apples are nicely browned and soft. Remove from oven and sprinkle the tart with confectioners' sugar, cover the edges of tart with foil, and broil it under a preheated broiler about 4 inches from the heat until the edges of the apples are golden brown and crisp. Once the tart has cooled lightly glaze the apple slices with warm apricot glaze.
8. Apricot Glaze: In a small saucepan heat the apricot preserves until boiling. Remove from heat and strain to get rid of lumps. Add the Cognac or water. Use this glaze to seal the baked tart shell and to brush the top of the finished tart.
9. Serve the tart warm or at room temperature with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
10. Makes one 8 or 9 inch tart.