If you love apple pie but want a quick, easy, lighter alternative, this is for you. French Apple Tart looks super fancy yet is easy to make and never fails to wow. It can also be made gluten-free!
The crust comes together in minutes in a food processor, and the rest is simple assembly. Slicing and fanning the apples makes this recipe appear more extravagant and professional than it is.

French Apple Tart Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 6 tbsp butter cut into pieces
- 1 cup flour or one to one gluten-free flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp ice water
Filling
- 4 firm apples peeled
- 4 tbsp granular sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp butter
Glaze
- 2 tbsp apricot or seedless raspberry jam
- 2 tsp water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375
- Make the crust in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add butter, flour, and sugar, and process until mixture forms a coarse meal. Add water 1 tbsp. at a time through the feed tube until the dough forms a ball. Wrap the dough ball in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour or several days.
- Prepare the filling. Peel the apples and slice around the core to get two large halves and two short pieces. Place the large halves flat on a cutting board and thinly slice them from top to bottom, preserving the shape of the apple.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough ball and fit it into a 9" removable bottom springform or tart pan. Be sure to trim edges. Place apple halves into the tart pan and fan the slices from the inside out. It should look like a flower. Use extra pieces of apple to fill the gaps between the apple halves.