How to make Ina Garten’s favorite dessert? Recipe explored

In a recent exclusive interview with TODAY, Ina Garten opened up about her all-time favorite dessert, a French Apple Tart. Ina is a renowned American television cook and author known for her Food Network program Barefoot Contessa.

Ina has curated classic and comforting dishes in the past but her French apple tart is one such recipe that combines flavor with elegance. This recipe showcases her approach towards food: delicious, beautiful, and easy to make.

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French Apple Tart: a classic dessert

A classic French dessert - Source: Getty

''To me, it’s just simple and elegant, which I love. It’s simple, it’s got a crisp crust, sweet apples, butter, and sugar, and is easy to make''

Garten shared in a recent exclusive interview with TODAY. French apple tart has a long history in traditional French cuisine. The crisp pastry shell is filled with creamy custard-like filling and finally topped with thinly sliced apples. While French apple tart varies in complexity, Ina's version keeps things minimal by layering simple flavors.

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The unique components of Ina Garten's French apple tart

Few individual components surely make Ina Garten's apple tart unique and elevate the overall experience:

• Almond cream

Frangipane or almond cream plays an essential role in the entire recipe. This rich almond cream is made with butter, sugar, eggs, almond flour, and a sprinkle of all-purpose flour. The almond cream perfectly complements the sweetness of apples, enhancing their overall flavor profile.

• Apples

Ina prefers Granny Smith apples, which are tart and firm in texture. The acidity and crispy texture of the apples ensure that they hold their shape after baking as well. Ina suggests thinly slicing the apples to make them cook evenly in a beautiful spiral pattern.

• Glaze

To finish off the pie, Ina brushes the apples with apricot preserves after baking. This extra step adds shine to the apple, making the pie look more polished. The peach glaze adds extra sweetness to the pie.

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Ina's technique to achieve the perfect French apple tart

What makes Ina's special apple tart recipe stand out is the balance of flavors and textures:

• Baking the crust :

Blind baking is an essential step in the recipe for ensuring that the crust doesn't get soggy. Baking the crust on parchment paper with pie weights, additionally ensures that the pie remains crisp.

• A balanced almond filling :

The almond cream in Ina's French apple tart is rich yet light in nature. Almond flour, sugar, and butter are combined with egg yolk to create a smooth, custard-like consistency. The Almond filling is leveled evenly on the pie crust, which contrasts with the crunch of the apples.

• The art of layering the apples:

The layering of the apple slices brings elegance to the tart, Ina arranges the apple slices in a circular pattern over the almond cream filling. Start from the outside and work towards the center to create an even yet striking pattern.

This special technique of overlapping and layering the apples comes from the French Tradition, which can be recreated easily.

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What makes Ina's tart so special

An easy-to-make recipe for all sorts of gatherings ( source: Barefoot Contessa)

What makes Ina's delightful apple tart stand out is its simplicity of flavors. She combined a few basic ingredients to create something that feels luxurious.

This tart can be enjoyed all year round, meaning that this showstopper dessert can be devoured at all forms of gathering.