French Apple-Almond Tart

I made this a while back, for Father's Day (my dad's a huge fan of anything that includes baked goods and apples), and it was really good.  I loved the almond paste-like filling between the apples and the crust. 

Crust:
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoons brandy
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 -inch pieces


Filling:
1/2 cup (heaping) raw almonds
1/3 cup sugar, plus extra for topping
1 large egg
2 tablespoons brandy
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tart apples, peeled, quartered, cored, cut into 1/8-inch-thick wedges (I used Fuji)


To make the crust:

Stir egg yolks and brandy in small bowl to blend. Combine flour, sugar, nutmeg 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 11-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch round cake pan. Fold overhang in and press, forming double-thick sides. Chill while making filling.

To make the filling:

Combine almonds, sugar, egg, 1 tablespoon brandy, 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 brandy 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 1-2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake tart 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples are tender, about 40 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool.

This tastes wonderful warm or chilled, and goes nicely with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream on top!

Recipe adapted from:

 http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/French-Apple-Almond-Tart-4665#ixzz0t9J8IoOK