Upside Down Apple Tart

From Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

This recipe makes enough for 2 pies with one top crust. Wrap and freeze half the dough. 

This pastry is a cross between pie crust and cookie dough, soft, rises due to baking powder, very rich. 

Making a one crust tart is less calories and less money.  I made this apple tart all the time in wheat flour days, using my rich French sweet pastry recipe.  Baking tart with pastry on top, makes a far crisper, not soggy pastry. 

Gluten-Free Upside Down, One Crust Apple Tart

Ingredients:

• 5 oz (1 cup less 1 tbsp, 140g) King Arthur gluten free all purpose flour – no baking powder or xanthan gum. Available in 24 oz box in grocery store. Cheapest at NE Market Basket’s $5+
• 3 oz (¾ c, 84 g) almond flour -note finely ground almond flour (white) is less volume than more coarsely ground almond flour or almond meal (freckly), that’s why I weigh. Too much or too little by volume will alter recipe. Not all measuring cups are accurate.
• ¼ c (1 oz, 28 g) powdered (icing)  sugar
• ¾ stick (3 oz, 84 g)  cold butter 
• 2 tsp (10ml)  gluten-free baking powder 
• pinch of salt
• ½ tsp (3 ml) xanthan gum, ¼ tsp xg crumbled too much even when cold. 
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp (5 ml) gluten-free vanilla extract, almond if doing more almond filling.
• ¼ c (60ml, 2oz)- 1/3 c cream.  

Filling

• 2 tbsp butter (1oz, 30 ml)
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp (30ml) packed light brown sugar
• (make 50% more butter mix and then add 1 tbsp gluten-free bourbon to one third of sauce to drizzle over dessert on serving.)
• 2-4 large Gala, Fuji, Braeburn apples, peeled, cored, halved and sliced or a mix of your favorite apples for baking – you might need more depending on size of apples – I like to use Gala apples as they are naturally sweet for the finished tart. Granny Smith needs more sugar.
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:

1. Pre heat oven to 400*. Melt butter, sugar and maple syrup in the microwave in microwave safe pan, until butter melts.    Cool slightly (so glass or ceramic dish doesn’t crack from thermal shock) and then pour into base of 9” pie plate – not loose bottomed or you will lose all the tasty syrup.
2. Mix gluten-free flour, almond flour, sugar, xg, baking powder and salt together until resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Mix egg, milk and extract together and whisk with a fork to blend egg.
4. You can add liquid mix to dry mix in food processor and pulse to combine. Gently knead a few times with white rice flour.
5. Put plastic wrap on counter/12 x 18 chopping board, dust with rice flour. Put half of lump of dough on top, dust with rice flour, cover with another piece of plastic wrap and roll out  between 2 sheets of saran wrap to make a circle big enough to fit the inside edge of a 9” pie plate. This can be measured by turning the pie plate upside down on pastry to check for size.  Don’t worry if the pastry circle doesn’t look beautiful as it will become the bottom hidden by apples.

Apples

6. Put apples into pie plate on top of butter mix.  Remember apples will collapse down so I like a thick layer. 
7. Mix together cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top of apple layers.  If you put cinnamon next to the butter layer then the tart would have a speckly appearance from the cinnamon.
8. Take off top piece of saran wrap.  Put your hand under the bottom piece of saran wrap and use it to lift up the dough and flip it on top of apples.  Don’t worry if it cracks a bit just patch it together as it won’t be visible for serving.  Tuck any extra dough down the inside edge of the pie plate not on the top edge or over the outside edge. Remove second piece of saran wrap.
9. Place on baking sheet in preheated oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is a deep brown without being burnt.  Cover with foil if browning too fast.  If your oven cooks fast, then dig the tip of a sharp knife into the middle of the dough to see how well cooked it is.  The pastry should be light and crispy throughout with no raw doughiness.
10. Remove from oven, let stand for about 10 minutes so the juices solidify slightly.  Don’t leave for longer before you turn the tart out or the caramel will harden. Warm slightly in oven or microwave if that happens. Turn out onto a plate with edges so juices don’t spill.  
11. Serve with ice cream and an extra drizzle of the butter, maple syrup mix (plus bourbon) and Indulge!