Make this easy freeform apple tart, named after Brienne of Tarth for a sweet end to your Game of Thrones viewing party!
As far as strong female characters goes, Game of Thrones has a long list to choose from: Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, and one of my personal favorites, Brienne of Tarth. Although Brienne probably does more damage on the battle field than in the kitchen, this apple tart is the perfect dessert for your Game of Thrones viewing party this weekend.
I love to use sweet-tart Honeycrisp apples for this tart, but you can also use Granny Smith apples, or a mixture of both.
To lighten up the prep time, you can make the dough ahead of time, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.
To start, prep your crust by placing your flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor or large mixing bowl. Add the butter cubes and pulse the mixture in a food processor, or use a pastry blender or your fingers and cut the butter into the flour, until the butter is the size of small peas. The butter needs to be very very cold for the crust to turn out flakey -- I often stick mine in the freezer for a few minutes after cutting it into cubes. If you're using your hands to cut the butter into the flour, run your hands under cold water first to prevent the butter from melting.
Next, sprinkle ice water, a tablespoon at a time, over the flour mixture. Pulse or stir the mixture until large clumps form. When enough water has been added to allow the dough to come together (you know it's come together when you squeeze the dough and it doesn't fall apart), transfer to a lightly floured work surface and gather the dough into a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
After the dough is chilled, preheat your oven to 400º F and move the rack to the center position. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, or place a Silpat mat on the sheet pan. On a lightly-floured surface, roll the dough out to a 16-inch round. Transfer the round to the cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, combine your sugar, cinnamon, ginger, lemon zest and salt. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples and add to the sugar mixture. Toss the apples with lemon juice and coat well with the sugar mixture.
Arrange the apples on the crust, leaving a 3-inch border, in a circular pattern with all the apple slices pointing the same way, working from the outside to the center. Fold the edge of the dough up around the apples, overlapping the dough when necessary.
Brush the edge of the dough with egg white and sprinkle with coarse / turbinado sugar. Place the cookie sheet on the center rack of the oven and bake until the crust is golden and apples are fork-tender, about an hour. Transfer the cookie sheet to a wire rack to cool completely. Slide the tart onto a serving platter, slice into 8 pieces and serve with ice cream.
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Game of Thrones Inspired Brienne of (Apple) Tart
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Description
Make this easy freeform apple tart, named after Brienne of Tarth for a sweet end to your Game of Thrones viewing party!
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
- 4-6 tablespoons ice water
- 1 large egg white, beaten
- 1 teaspoon coarse / turbinado sugar
For the Filling
- 6 medium apples (Honeycrisp or Granny Smith, or a mixture of both)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (about one lemon)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about one lemon)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
For the Crust
- Place flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor or large mixing bowl. Pulse in the food processor, or use a pastry blender or your fingers and cut the butter into the flour, until butter is the size of small peas.
- Sprinkle ice water, a tablespoon at a time, over the flour mixture. Pulse or stir mixture until large clumps form.
- When enough water has been added to allow the dough to come together, transfer to a lightly floured work surface and gather the dough into a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
- After dough is chilled, preheat oven to 400º F and move the rack to the center position. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, or place a Silpat mat on the sheet pan. On a lightly-floured surface, roll the dough out to a 16-inch round. Transfer the round to the cookie sheet.
For the Filling
- In a large bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, ginger, lemon zest and salt.
- Peel, core and thinly slice apples and add to sugar mixture.
- Toss apples with lemon juice and coat well with the sugar mixture.
Assemble the Tart
- Arrange the apples on the dough, leaving a 3-inch border, in a circular pattern with all the apple slices pointing the same way, working from the outside to the center.
- Fold edge of the dough up around the apples, overlapping the dough when necessary.
- Brush edge of the dough with beaten egg white and sprinkle with coarse / turbinado sugar.
- Place cookie sheet on the center rack of the oven and bake until the crust is golden and apples are fork-tender, about an hour.
- Transfer cookie sheet to a wire rack to cool completely. Slide the tart onto a serving platter, slice into 12 pieces and serve with vanilla ice cream.
Notes
- I love to use sweet-tart Honeycrisp apples for this tart, but you can also use Granny Smith apples, or a mixture of both.
- To lighten up the prep time, you can make the dough ahead of time, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.
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