Easy Puff Pastry Apple Tart

With just 7 ingredients and made in less than an hour, you can have this elegant Puff Pastry Apple Tart ready to impress friends and family. This dessert is professional bakery-worthy, but easy enough for beginner bakers to master flawlessly.

This Apple Puff Tart might look complicated, but it’s actually very quick and simple to make. Using store-bought puff pastry that’s baked to golden perfection, sweet apples, and a handful of pantry ingredients, this tart comes together in no time for an impressive yet unbelievably easy dessert.

Caramelized apples, warm spices and buttery, flaky pastry, make this Puff Pastry Apple Tart not only stunning to serve, but absolutely delicious and decadent to eat.

If you like this, try some of our other favorite recipes for tarts and pies. These Apple Pie Cookies are a fun combination of two desserts, and this Apple Crisp is a classic that’s always a crowd-pleaser.

Slice of apple tart puff pastry with a loose dollop of sweetened crema on top.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

With a buttery, flaky crust and decadent apple filling, this treat is easy to love. Here’s why it’s one of our favorites.

Simple To Prepare. With just a few ingredients and a simple process, this tart comes together quickly, and easily. Bakers of any level can make this thanks.
Satisfying Store-bought Shortcut. Golden brown, flaky puff pastry is one of the key ingredients here. One of our favorite and delicious store-bought shortcuts readily available at most grocery stores.
Seasonal Sweet. Sweet, tangy, Granny Smith apples are the main component of the filling. They’re tartness makes them the perfect ingredient to pair with warm spices and lots of sugar.
Impressive Dessert. The layered apple slices make for an impressive presentation that requires no special technique. Then run wild with the topping options to keep the dessert fresh and different every time you make it.

Slice of apple tart puff pastry on a piece of parchment paper with tart, a green apple and a green bowl set in the background.

What Is Puff Pastry?

Aside from being one of our favorite ingredients to work with, puff pastry is a delicious, flaky pastry dough that’s extremely versatile and easy to use. It’s best known for its light, airy, buttery layers that, as the names says, puff up beautifully when baked.

The finished product is perfectly golden brown, delicate, crispy and flaky. You can find puff pastry readily available in the freezer section of most grocery stores, or you can try your hand at making a homemade version, too (though the store-bought stuff is great).

Ingredients

Puff pastry, green apple, turbinado sugar, sugar, bottle of ground cinnamon, whole nutmeg, salt, egg and cream cheese set out on a baking sheet.

Puff Pastry: The base for this dessert, it’s buttery, flaky and airy once baked. It’s a foolproof and easy way to create a stunning dessert.
Granny Smith Apples: These are one of our favorite apples to bake with. They’re tart, sweet, and hold their texture once cooked.
Sugar: granulated sugar is all you need here.
Cinnamon and Nutmeg: Warm, slightly spicy, and nutty, these spices pair perfectly with the apples and create that signature apple pie flavor.
Salt: We love adding a pinch of salt to all baked goods to balance out the sweetness.
Cream Cheese: Rich and tangy, this adds a layer of decadent flavor and creaminess to the puff pastry dessert.
Egg: used as an egg wash to give the puff pastry a golden, shiny finish.
Turbinado Sugar: or sugar in the raw, this type of sugar has larger granules and adds a lovely sweet crunch to the crust.
Maple Syrup or Honey: Optional, but adds a sweet, glossy sheen as a finishing touch on the baked fruit.

How To Make Puff Pastry Apple Tart

Start by removing the puff pastry from the freezer and letting it thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes. It should be pliable—you don’t want to force unfolding it or you risk cracking the pastry.
Now, preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Peeled apple slices tossed with sugar and spices to coat in a yellow, white and black speckled bowl.

Peel and slice the apples then toss them with some sugar and spices. Set these aside while you prep the pastry.

Sheet of puff pastry set on a parchment lined baking sheet with dots of cream cheese spread over it.

Unfold the thawed puff pastry on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Lightly score a border around the crust (but don’t cut all the way through the pastry).
Now dot the pastry with softened bits of cream cheese. I like to use an offset spatula to schmear the cream cheese down a bit.

Unbaked apple puff pastry tart with apple slices neatly shingled and the edges folden up over the apples.

Layer the spiced apple slices in a shingled pattern, leaving a small border around the edge. Drizzle any juices from bowl over apples. Fold edges up and over apple slices to create a crust.
Brush the crust with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar, sparkling sugar or sliced almonds.

Baked apple puff pastry tart on a parchment-lined baking sheet with apple slices neatly shingled and the golden brown edges folden up over the apples.

Bake the tart until it’s puffed, golden and juices are bubbling, about 30 minutes. This is optional, but I like to brush the apple slices with some warmed honey or maple syrup for a sweet, glossy sheen.
Let it cool slightly and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Experts Tips

Anyone can make this puff pastry apple tart and it’ll turn out delicious, but here are a few helpful tips to ensure it comes out perfectly each time.

Thaw puff pastry completely. Don’t rush this process. Let the puff pastry thaw completely before unfolding, handling and rolling out.
You can allow it to thaw on the counter at room temperature or in the fridge (this will take slightly longer, but works perfectly well, too).
Arrange the apples for the look you’re doing for. If you’re going for a “fancy,” attractive, presentation, carefully arrange them in a neat and even pattern. If you like more of a “rustic” tart like a galette, simple pile them up or layer them less uniformly.

Golden brown baked apple puff pastry tart on a parchment-lined baking sheet with apple slices neatly shingled and the edges folden up over the apples.

Variations and Substitutions

We love this simple, straightforward version of this puff pastry apple tart. It’s delicious as is, but there are some other tasty ways to doctor it up, too.

Use Other Spices. To add even more spice, add some other complimentary ground spices. Allspice and cardamom would be nice additions to the cinnamon and nutmeg. Or use the homemade apple pie spice blend from this apple pie cookie recipe.
Add some bourbon. If you want to kick things up, add a splash of bourbon to “spike” your filling. The warm, spicy notes pair nicely with the apples. Just a splash is all you need.
Serve with ice cream or whipped cream. There’s nothing better than apple pie a la mode, so don’t skip the ice cream with this tart, either. Vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream is a nice, sweet and cool finishing touch.
Sweetened Sour Cream: this is in line with the ice cream or whipped cream. But lightly sweetened sour cream is my favorite pairing with this apple tart. It’s tangy, cooling and just perfectly sweet.
Try other fruits. Apples are fantastic when they’re in season, but this simple tart recipe is delicious with other fruit as well. We love switching it up with pears, peaches, and plums too. Try just one fruit, or a combination.
Use pie crust. We love puff pastry for this tart, but store-bought or homemade pie crust works beautifully too. It will give the tart crust a denser, crunchier texture that isn’t as airy or puffed up, but it’s equally as buttery, flaky and delicious. Think of it similarly to a galette.

Slice of apple tart puff pastry on a piece of parchment paper showing it's flaky crust.

Storage Tips

This tart is so easy to devour—it’s one of those desserts you will find yourself sneaking pieces throughout the day. And it’s best enjoyed the day it’s baked. However, if you do have some left over, here’s how to store it.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Reheat in a 350ºF oven until crisped up and warmed through.

We don’t recommend freezing this pie, it will compromise the texture and make the puff pastry soggy.

FAQs

Can you use puff pastry as a tart base?

Definitely. Puff pastry is light, airy and flaky, and the buttery layers make for a lovely tart base. It’s extremely versatile and easy to work with.

Do you need to blind bake puff pastry for a tart?

The only reason you’d need to bake the puff pastry ahead of time is if you’re making a tart with a chilled filling that doesn’t need to be cooked, like a fresh fruit tart with a cream cheese or yogurt base. So for this recipe, no, you do not need to blind bake it.

What’s the difference between apple pie and apple tart?

For starters apple pies are made with pie crust (dense and flaky) and are baked in a pie plate. Apple tarts can be made with tart crust (which is sweeter and melt-in-your-mouth) or puff pastry which is crisp and flaky). Apple tarts can be baked in melta tart pans or free-form on baking sheets.

How do I keep the bottom of the puff pastry from getting soggy?

To prevent the bottom of the puff pastry from getting soggy it’s important to use a filling that it’s too moist. This filling uses Granny Smith apples, which are one of the least moist apple varieties, along with just sugar and spices. No added liquid. Additionally, if your fruit filling seems to be fairly juicy, you can add a bit of cornstarch (using a cornstarch slurry) to ensure the juices thicken into a caramel during baking.