Apple and Honey Financier Tart

For Rosh Hashanah this year, we were invited to some meals in Toronto. For a dinner, I made an enormous apple-honey challah that is always a crowd favorite. For after dinner, I made a tart with a short crust, filled with a layer of apple, and a financier batter.

The recipe is by Francois Payard. To start, I made the sweet tart dough (confectioner’s sugar, flour, butter, egg yolk). After chilling, it was quite dry and cracked easily while rolling. We just took the pieces and fit them together like a jigsaw puzzle in an 8” tart pan.

Apples vary in size so much, so “3 medium” is still pretty subjective. I wished more recipes would give weights. Making the honey glazed apples was straightforward, but the financier filling was a bit more involved. First, there is brown butter to be made, then the dry ingredients (ground almonds, confectioner’s sugar, cornstarch, flour) need combining. Finally, egg whites, honey, cream, (whew), and the melted butter are added to finish the batter.

When I took the tart out of the oven, the surface was browned very nicely. The final touch was warm honey brushed on top. Slices of this financier tart cut cleanly, but it tasted a bit dry to me that evening. I think I should have made a bit more of the cooked apples. However, the leftover slices became more moist over the next few days, and were even more delicious.