Apple Almond Tart

Recipe from Bon Appétit , Oct 1997

Ingredients
For crust:
2 large egg yolks
2 T Calvados or brandy
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
2 T sugar
1/4 t salt
9 T chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 -inch pieces

For filling:
1 1/4 c blanched slivered almonds
3/4 c plus 2 T sugar
2 large eggs
3 T Calvados or brandy
1 tvanilla extract
1/2 t almond extract
1/4 t salt
6 T unsalted butter, room temperature

3-4 tart green apples, peeled, quartered, cored, cut into 1/8-inch-thick wedges

1/4 cup apricot preserves

What you do:
Make crust:
Stir egg yolks and Calvados in small bowl to blend. Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter; cut in, using on/off turns, until butter is size of small peas. With machine running, add yolk mixture. Process until large moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic; refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly before rolling out.)

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 14-inch round. Transfer to 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Fold overhang in and press, forming double-thick sides. Chill for 30 minutes.

Make filling:
Combine almonds, 3/4 cup sugar, eggs, 1 tablespoon Calvados, extracts and salt in processor. Blend until soft paste forms. Add 4 tablespoons butter; blend 10 seconds. Spread in crust. Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir apples, 1 tablespoon Calvados and 1 tablespoon sugar in large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Drain apples; overlap in concentric circles atop filling. Melt 2 tablespoons butter; brush over apples. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake tart 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples are tender, about 45 minutes. Transfer to rack. Stir preserves and 1 tablespoon Calvados in small saucepan over low heat until preserves melt. Strain into small bowl; brush over apples. Cool. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)