Saffron Apple Tart

This Sunday morning I went apple picking with a few friends in Julian, CA. I had never had the opportunity to taste an apple this fresh and was pleasantly surprised to find a noticeable difference in the complexity of flavor of these Julian apples to those found in a grocery store. Since it was the last weekend the orchard was open to the public, all the reachable branches had been picked over, forcing us to climb the trees to reach the prime apples up top. Even so, it took us less than an hour to pick about 30 pounds of apples. I am now on a mission to test out several apple centered recipes this week to best enjoy our abundance of apples before they fade.



I'll first start with a classic apple dessert, with a twist. In this recipe for Apple Tart, I infuse the apples with saffron. Saffron is one of my favorite spices to use. It adds such subtle depth and richness to a dish, not to mention beautiful color. Although saffron is the most expensive spice, a very small amount will make all the difference in the world. For example, in this recipe we only use an 1/8 teaspoon of saffron threads. Trader Joe's now sells saffron at an extremely affordable rate.



Sweet Dough

Makes enough for 2 10'" Tarts

4 cups bread flour

2 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature

3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1tsp vanilla extract

Mix butter on low speed in standing mixer until very smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth, do not raise speed. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Place dough on floured surface and finish mixing by hand. Wrap dough and place in fridge for at least an hour. This allows the flour in the dough to rest and makes for a more delicate tart shell.

After dough has rested, roll into a circle about 1/4" thick on a floured surface . Gently wrap dough around rolling pin and place on top of the tart pan. Press dough into groves of tart pan and around bottom edges. Roll pin over top to cut off excess dough. Reserve this excess dough in fridge for later use. Allow lined tart pan to rest in fridge while you prepare the apples.



Saffron Apple Tart

Enough for 10" tart

1 1/2# apples

6 Tbs butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp saffron

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp saffron



Peel, core, and cut the apples into even slices. Melt the butter then add the apple slices. Pour the dry ingredients on top and mix. Heat mixture over low heat for about 8 minutes or until the apples are just becoming tender. This process allows the saffron flavors to infuse the apples before the baking process begins.



Pour the apples into the pre-lined tart shell. Roll out reserved excess sweet dough and cut into strips. Weave the strips on top of the tart. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 1 hour, or until crust is browned. Enjoy!