TWD - Parisian Apple Tartlet

When I first read this recipe I was thrilled that it was so easy! Puff pastry from the freezer, apples, a little brown sugar and a bit of butter. How in the world could you go wrong with that combination? After reading other's reviews I decided I was going to be brave and make my own puff pastry. I didn't want to try and track down a butter puff pastry and didn't want to use one with shortening after reading Dorie's opinion on puff pastry.

So, I pulled out my binder from Cook Street and had a go at puff pastry for the first time in seven years. Yikes! The weather here in Utah has been very mild for this time of year so I figured it was a good time to try this as it wasn't so hot that the butter would become too soft and melt while I was working with it. It was a lot of work and required a lot of time because the dough needs to rest between the series of rollings and foldings. By repeating those steps multiple times, this creates alternating layers of butter and pastry, thereby creating a flaky, light puff pastry crust.

When I put the tarts in the oven I was apprehensive that my puff pastry wasn't going to work out and that I would have a big melted butter mess on the bottom of the pan. I watched carefully and was relieved when it appeared to be doing exactly what it was supposed to do!

We had our friends over for Sunday night dessert and the Parisian Apple Tartlet was a huge hit! I served them slightly warm, with a small scoop of Butter Pecan ice cream on top, which added a creamy element which complimented the baked apple and pastry in a lovely way. In fact, I thought it was so good I had two servings. Good thing I hit the gym hard Monday morning!

Although the puff pastry was a lot of work, I would definitely make these again, and would try my hand at puff pastry again. If you are interested in this simple, fabulous dessert, head on over to My Baking Heart for the full recipe.

Until next week! Happy Baking!