This apple tart with puff pastry is a 5-step, 5-ingredient recipe with a sweet and woody depth from cinnamon playing off the crisp and tart apples. A fabulous puff pastry dessert with apples, that has all the feels of an apple pie but takes a fraction of the time to make.
It’s still too hot and humid here to call it fall, but the autumnal mood has set in. And a puff pastry tart topped with any fruit has become my favorite. I don’t need any special equipment or ingredients to make fruit puff pastry, and it hardly takes 15 minutes to put it together.
After cherries and strawberries, apple puff pastries were in the books. And let me say this: by the time the puff pastry tart apples were baked, temptation had a stronghold on us.
We didn't even bother with any toppings before serving, but now as I think back on it, a big, thick, cold scoop of ice cream would have been delicious with the caramelized but still-crisp apples.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
This apple puff pastry tart features flaky, golden puff pastry topped with a layer of creamy, sweetened cream cheese and thinly sliced apples
It’s a super quick take on an apple pie - only 45 minutes from rolling to baking
This apple tart has a perfect blend of crispy, creamy, and fruity flavors
It’s an impressive dessert, a teatime snack, and great for brunch
Recipe Ingredients
Puff pastry: Ready-made pastry is available everywhere, online and in supermarkets. Buy the best you can find. But if you’re feeling ambitious, go ahead and make it from scratch at home.
Apples: No matter which part of the world you’re in, I strongly support buying locally. It’s the best choice for this apple tart in puff pastry. Find a farmer near you and use the variety they grow.
Something crisp that can hold shape after baking would be a good choice, like Red Delicious or Granny Smith. I, of course, opted for the local, orchard-grown Kinnaur apples, and they were succulent, sweet, and juicy.
Cream cheese: This adds a wonderful creamy tang to the apple tart! Use homemade cream cheese or store-bought.
Please see the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
HOW TO MAKE APPLE PUFF PASTRY TART
Step 1: Flour your work surface lightly, then roll the puff pastry into a 12-inch-long rectangle.
Step 2: Place the puff pastry on a parchment-lined tray. Pick up a sharp knife and score a half-inch border around the perimeter of the puff pastry.
Step 3: Combine homemade cream cheese and icing sugar in a mixing bowl, then spread it over the puff pastry.
Step 4: Spread evenly and then layer sliced apples on top along with cinnamon and granulated sugar.
Step 5: Bake the apple tart with puff pastry for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden, flaky, and bubbling with juices.
Final step: Serve warm.
Pro Tips
- After cutting the apples, I tossed them in lemon juice, so they didn’t oxidize while I prepped the rest of the recipe. The juice lends only a tiny hint of lemony note at the back of the apple puff pastries.
- Not all apple pastry puffs have cream cheese, but I want to give this pastry with apples an extra layer of indulgence. Since I recently made a batch of cream cheese at home (the easiest recipe ever), it was fun to add it.
- I swear by store-bought puff pastry - The magical ingredient makes everything so very, very quick and simple.
- Bake the puff pastry apple tart while the pastry is still cold. It’ll lift more, forming those bakery-style flaky layers. If you bring it down to room temperature, the butter melts, and the pastry doesn’t bake well either.
- You can bake it as a full big puff pastry as I did with my strawberry one. Or smaller hand-held pies like my cherry pastries and strawberry turnovers.
- Like all puff pastries, these apple tarts are best enjoyed the day they are made. But my household doesn’t mind eating them cold, either. If you have leftovers, feel free to reheat them in a preheated oven for 3 to 4 minutes, and they’ll warm right up.
📖 Recipe
The Best Apple Puff Pastry Tart
Ingredients
- 17.6 oz Puff pastry
- 1/2 cup Cream cheese, softened
- 3 tbsp Icing sugar
- 2 Apples, sliced
- 2 tsp Lemon juice
- 1.5 tsp Cinnamon powder
- 2 tsp Granulated sugar, for topping Optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle, roughly about 10"*12".
- Place the pastry on the prepared tray.
- Score the pastry around the edges, leaving a 1/2" border all around.
- Lightly whisk the cream cheese and icing sugar.
- Spread on the rolled-out pastry, leaving 1/2" edge all around the pastry.
- Lightly toss the apple slices with lemon juice and place them on top of the cream cheese.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon powder and granulated sugar on top.
- Bake at 200 C for 25-30 minutes, until the apples are lightly caramelized and the pastry, golden brown.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy warm!
Aruna says
Hi Natasha. Thank you for this recipe! I bought puff pastry sheet from a supermarket. Do they come in different sizes? The one I have is a tiny square. Will that roll into a 10*12 inch rectangle? I tried rolling it and it became really thin. It didn't look like the one in your photos. Could you please tell me which brand/size of sheet you have used here? Thanks in advance, Aruna
Natasha Minocha says
Hi Aruna, so I use puff pastry sold in a local store in Gurgaon. It does come in different sizes. Mine weighs 500 gms and easily rolls out into a 10*12 rectangle. However, if yours is a small one, you can definitely use that, just roll it into a smaller rectangle or square, maybe a 6" or 8" one. Hope this helps.:)