One bite of this delicious vegan French apple tart will have you feeling like you've just visited a boulangerie-pâtisserie. With an easy shortcrust pastry, vegan frangipane filling, and apricot-glazed apples, it's irresistibly delicious, all while being completely eggless and dairy-free. Perfect for apple season.
Make the pastry: Make a batch of this vegan shortcrust pastry and par-bake it as up to part 4 of the recipe instructions. Allow the pastry to cool to room temperature.
Gently heat the apricot jam in a saucepan and using a pastry brush, brush about half of it over the base and sides of the pastry crust. Reserve the other half for coating the apples.
Frangipane
In a large bowl, with an electric whisk beat the vegan butter for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and whisk again for 1-2 minutes, until it has creamed into the butter. Add the apple sauce, one tablespoon at a time, whisking to incorporate each one. Lastly, add the almond extract and whisk to combine and beat for another 30 seconds until incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together the ground almonds, flour, and baking powder. Fold the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture using a spatula until combined - do not over-mix.
Transfer the frangipane to a piping bag and pipe it into the cooled pastry shell in an even layer (You can simply spoon it in if preferred).
Apple Layer
Quarter and core the apples and slice them very thinly. If you have a mandolin this is very helpful to get even slices. Arrange the apples in a circular assembly on top of the frangipane layer. Use the remaining apricot jam to glaze the apples with your pastry brush.
Bake at 180°C (356°F) for 30-40 minutes, until the apples have browned slightly and are tender when pierced with a fork. If the edges are browning too quickly, take the tart out and carefully cover the outer crust with some foil.Note: The tart will rise once base and deflate slightly once cooled (this is normal). Allow the tart to cool completely before removing it from the tin. For best results chill the tart for a couple of hours before serving and top with flaked almonds for garnish if desired.
Storage
Store this apple tart in an airtight container and refrigerate. Consume within 2-3 days for best results. Any leftover tart (not that it’s likely there will be any!) can be frozen. Make sure the tart is wrapped or packaged in an airtight container before freezing.
Notes
You can prepare the shortcrust pastry in advance if you’re looking to save time. Make the dough ahead and freeze until ready to use, or blind bake and refrigerate the tart shell the day before preparing the rest of the tart
Puff pastry: Use ready-made vegan puff pastry in place of the shortcrust.
Pears: Swap out apples for pears.
Cinnamon: Toss the apple slices in half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to really bring out those fall flavors.
Vanilla bean: To level up your vegan frangipane add seeds from half of a scraped vanilla pod