Rose scented Apple Tart: A day apple picking in a New York State Orchard

A. and I started our day by meeting at Grand Central Station in New York City. Standing in the middle of so many people hurriedly passing, bags in hand, only added to the feeling of anticipation as we headed out to our destination, an apple orchard 50 miles north of NYC.

Apple orchards are known for their cider donuts.   The familiar pleasing smell of cinnamon, boiled apples, and fresh air swayed our appeites, we quickly walked to the open barn that sold the day’s baked goods.  Only you can decide for yourself whether you should head for the barn that donuts or wait until the end of your journey, we had ours first and last.

A broad swooping open plain stretched out before us as each apple tree lined up, a uniformed distance apart, one following the next, in a perfect grid.  We walked through the orchard only to discover that almost every apple had been picked the day before.  Or we hadn’t followed the correct path marked by large orange cones and found apple trees, barren of fruit.  Apples covered the ground ready for cidering.  Once we found the correct path; we filled the bag we shared between us.

Photography on right by Alicia Henry

Photography on left by Alicia Henry

Sitting restlessly on a bench waiting for our train, which would not arrive for an hour we divided our days work.  One bag full of apples and two homes to bring them to. We clearly separated the best apples of the bunch from the less desirable “bad apples”.  We turned over each apple deciding which colors and shapes were our favorites. I loved the mottled red apples with bright patches of green, but not necessarily those that were perfect in shape.

Apples with the tougher, thicker exterior, usually smaller in size, found later in the growing season, will taste best after a few weeks of storage, in a cool, dry space, even until spring.

Softer apples with a thin exterior are found early in the growing season and are best just picked or soon thereafter.

We picked our favorites from both bunches, the slightly flawed–a bruise here an indentation there–from the shiny skinned, smooth exterior. I like a mix of apples; golden delicious and red northern spy that found their way into the rose scented, rose shaped French apple tart a few days later.

Rose Scented Apple Tart

A unique technique for layering apples that captures your attention and looks lovely.  A technique I watched Sara Moulton do on one of her cooking shows on the Food Network, some years ago.

• 8 large apples, peeled and cored, then sliced by 1/4inch
• 3 tablespoons butter or earth balance
• 1/4 cup raw sugar or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup rose water
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

Peel and core 8 large apples of your choice with a mandolin or knife slice into a 1/4 inch thickness.

In a separate bowl, mix the raw sugar or maple syrup with rose water, lemon zest, cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg.  Add this mixture the sliced apples, gently coating the apples.  Be careful not to break up the apple slices, turn over coating the apples.  Drain the excess liquid.

In a partially blind baked crust, using an 11 inch tart pan, starting from the outside rim, place the apples inside. Lay them overlapping one another, following the last outer layer until you get to the inside.  Dice the 3 tablespoons of butter or earth balance and the dot in between layers of apples.

Bake the tart for 30-40 minutes in a preheated oven at 400 degrees. Optional: Once the tart is done, baste with heated marmalade for a nice shine.