Apple Blueberry Tart

OK, OKAY!!

Got several notes to the effect that we’re too meat and potatoes during a time where we should be more desertcentric – And so, we hear and obey.

Monica whipped up an awesome blueberry compote for our Christmas cheesecake, and that got me thinking about where else we could go with that lovely stuff. It lead here!

Apple Blueberry Tart

Crust:

1 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour
¼ cup Almonds
6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
3 Tablespoons Sugar
¼ teaspoon Salt
2 – 4 Tablespoons Ice Water

Process almonds to a coarse meal texture.

Add flour, sugar and salt and blend thoroughly.
Cut cold butter into ½” cubes, add and process until the mix is well incorporated, (Again, like a rough meal consistency).

Add water a tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to clump; make sure the mix is moist to the touch.
Gather dough, flatten into a roughly 1” thick disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, (And up to a day).

When ready to build, line a pan with parchment, then roll dough out to fit, (Tart or sheet pan, depending on whatcha got).

Blueberry compote:

1 Cup Blueberries
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
2 Tablespoons Cointreau
1 Tablespoon Agave Nectar (Or honey)

In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, add Cointreau and heat through.

Add butter and agave nectar and combine thoroughly.

Add blueberries, drop the heat to medium, and allow sauce to thoroughly coat. Continue heating and mixing until roughly ¾ of the berries have burst. Remove from heat and set aside.

Apples:
Of course, this begs the question, what apples are best for tarts?
The answer, for the most part is, those you like that come from as close to you as possible!
You can use either sweet or tart varieties as you prefer, and you can in fact mix both together – Do what you like, and try something else next time!
Jonathan, Winesap, Pippins, and Jonagold are great varieties with both sweet and tart elements to them.
For the tart side, try a Northern Spy.
For sweeter types, Honey Crisp, (Which is what we used), and Pink Lady are great choices.
What you do not want are varieties that go to mush or have no flavor: Delicious apples are great for baking if they’re fresh and local, otherwise, truth be told, they’re usually crap. Macintosh, Cortland and Fuji are probably not what you wanna bake with, either…

2 – 3 Apples of your choice
¼ Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400º F.
Peel and halve, core, and stem the apples.
Cut apples into ¼” thick slices.
Spread an even, thin layer of the compote over the dough.

Layer apples, overlapped by about ¼ their width, starting in the middle and working out toward the edges, until you’ve covered the whole shebang. Don’t use the ends/little nasty pieces if your concerned about appearance, (Which ya aughta be…)
Combine sugar and cinnamon, and shake evenly over the apples.
Cut butter into ¼” cubes and toss onto the apples as well.

Place tart in middle of oven. Bake for 25 minutes, rotate pan 180 degrees, and continue baking for another 25 minutes. Edges of the tart should be nicely browned, and don’t fret if the apple juice burns a little on the pan.