City Chick Cooks

goat cheese and apple tarts. last post inspired by the hunger games. promise!

“‘We make a goat cheese and apple tart at the bakery,’ he says.

‘Bet that’s expensive,’ I say.

‘Too expensive for my family to eat. Unless it’s gone very stale. Of course, practically everything we eat is stale,’ says Peeta…”

this is an extremely simple yet elegant dessert. it could also be served as an appetizer, especially if you cut down the amount of sugar and cinnamon.

i used frozen puff pastry, but i also used homemade goat cheese so i figure it balances out 🙂

stick the frozen puff pastry in the refrigerator ahead of time to thaw. this step is not entirely necessary, i’ve made these tarts from frozen puff pastry, but it’s easier to work with the pastry if its thawed.

preheat oven to 375.

thinly slice a granny smith apple. a mandolin would be useful here. if you’re like me and don’t have one, just slice thinly with a sharp knife, good eye and curled fingertips. squirt some lemon juice on top of the slices to prevent browning.

unfold your puff pastry and you can roll it out if you’d like. i don’t have much counter space so the puff pastry stayed as it came.

i pinched the sides, trying to make a little crust for the tarts but it was kind of useless since the pastry baked out and undid my pinching.

spread goat cheese onto the pastry, sprinkle some fresh thyme, and lightly drizzle with honey.

then, all pretty-like, fan out your apple slices over the goat cheese.

brush the whole thing generously with melted butter. also generously, sprinkle with raw sugar and cinnamon. should look like this:

bake until golden! if the puff pastry gets too puffy on you, poke it with a sharp knife to pop the air bubbles. i don’t know if it actually works, but that’s what i did and it seemed to make things a little better.

cut and serve! tastes yummy fresh out of the oven or cold.

here is a “recipe”, but bear with me… i don’t know amounts. just eyeball everything, nothing needs to be exact. this is just a general guideline/list of steps:

goat cheese and apple tarts

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

goat cheese

fresh thyme leaves

honey

1 thinly sliced granny smith apple (i only needed half of an apple for half of a puff pastry sheet, you can use more if desired)

melted butter, enough to cover tart(s)

raw sugar

cinnamon

1. preheat oven to 375
2. line baking sheet with parchment paper (it’ll make clean up easier since the butter+sugar caramelizes)
3. lay out puff pastry on prepared baking sheet. cut into sections to make smaller tarts, if desired.
4. spread with goat cheese
5. sprinkle with fresh thyme
6. lightly drizzle with honey
7. layer apple slices on top
8. brush apple slices and exposed edges of puff pastry with butter
9. heavily sprinkle with raw sugar
10. sprinkle with cinnamon
11. bake until golden and puff pastry is cooked through
12. slice with a sharp knife, the skin on the apples can be a little tough.