torta di mele | apple tart

My goodness...I should not have underestimated the powers of a beautiful salad! Thank you all for your sweet comments and enthusiasm. I won't lie, I fully expected to receive a whopping 2 comments on yesterday's post, so I appreciate all 10 of you proving me wrong. :)

As promised, here is an apple tart to kick off your weekend. It is your reward for yesterday's salad love, friends. This here tart is one of those pesky editorial assignments that I was telling you about, the completely fun and delicious and right-up-my-ally projects that cause me to eat more sweets/sushi/potato chips/wedding cake than maybe I should. This particular recipe was made and photographed for C-Ville Weekly and published in last week's issue. I'm just a little behind in getting it up here on Bella Eats. But, for all of you Charlottesville folks, Relay Foods has all of the ingredients ready to add to your cart in one click should you choose to make this apple tart this Fall. And you really should, as it is simple and lovely and delicious...three qualities I strive for in most food coming out of my kitchen.

Your tart will most likely look just a little bit different than mine because, well, I messed with the recipe a little bit. And wrongly, I might add. Your apples probably won't sit so high on the base, and the base itself won't be quite as dense. Even though I added a tad too much flour we still loved this treat.  I can't wait to make it again, sticking to the recipe below.

The pattern cut into the apples is, other than pretty, very helpful to slicing the tart in any way you might wish.

Torta di Mele (Apple Tart)

serves 8

from Meredith Barnes, C-Ville Weekly October 4-10, 2011

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1-1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tbsp milk
• 4 tart apples, peeled, cored, and halved
• 2 tbsp apricot preserves
• 2 tbsp water

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.  Butter and flour a 9" or 10" cake pan, tapping to remove excess flour.
2. Place the egg, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in the large bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until mixture is starting to combine and then add the melted butter, continuing to pulse until smooth.
3. Combine the flour and yeast, and add to the mixture in the processor. Pulse until evenly distributed, add the milk and vanilla, and then process until a soft batter forms.  
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread across the pan until it is level.
5. Deeply score the 8 apple halves in a grid pattern.  Place one half in the center of the cake pan and arrange the remaining halves in a circular pattern. Bake for 10 minutes, the reduce the oven temperature to 350° and bake for 35-40 minutes more, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Meanwhile, combine the 2 tbsp apricot preserves with the 2 tbsp water in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until melted.  When the tart comes out of the oven, brush it with the preserves and bake for an additional 3 minutes.  Serve warm.