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Savory Apple Tarte Flambée

by:
October  1, 2015
4
3 Ratings
Photo by Alexandra Stafford
  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 35 minutes
  • Serves 2
Author Notes

This savory pizza combines the elements of a classic Alsatian tarte flambée—crème fraîche, bacon, and raw onion—with sugared apple slices, a touch inspired by a Dorie Greenspan recipe in Baking Chez Moi .

Use any pizza dough you like. My preference is the Lahey no-knead dough. I have the best results with pizza at home when I use my baking steel, but I have made this on both a sheet pan and in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet. A cast-iron skillet is preferable to the sheet pan—I had trouble getting this pizza crisp on a sheet pan. The photos above show two methods: sheet pan and cast-iron skillet.

Recipe can be scaled up as needed. —Alexandra Stafford

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Ingredients
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons grapeseed, canola, or olive oil
  • 8 ounces pizza dough (I use the Lahey no-knead dough)
  • 1/4 cup crème fraîche
  • 1 slice bacon, uncooked, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced white onion
  • 1/4 cup grated Gruyère or Comté
  • 1 apple, thinly sliced on a mandoline
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 550°F. Place 2 teaspoons oil in cast-iron skillet or on parchment-lined sheet pan. Roll dough in oil, then let sit without touching for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, using oiled hands and working from the center out, stretch the dough to fit the skillet or into a 9- to 10-inch circle if using parchment paper. Note: Be gentle as you stretch the dough. As soon as the dough begins resisting, stop stretching it, let it rest for 5 minutes, then stretch again.
  2. Drop dollops of the crème fraîche evenly around the dough, then spread lightly using the back of a spoon or your fingers. Scatter the bacon, thyme, onion, and grated cheese overtop. Layer the apple slices over top, slightly overlapping them. Sprinkle with the sugar.
  3. Bake for 10 minutes. Check pizza and remove when edges are golden. If you are using a cast-iron skillet, remove pan and check underside—if it isn't as crisp as you like, place pan over a burner and cook over medium high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, or until crisp.
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I write the blog alexandra's kitchen, a place for mostly simple, sometimes fussy, and always seasonal recipes. My cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs is available everywhere books are sold.

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24 Reviews

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Hannah B. December 8, 2017
Any suggestions on making and storing this ahead of time? I've made this before and loved it - I'd like to make it again for a work potluck. My thought was to let it cool, wrap in foil and then let come to room temperature at work. (Unfortunately we don't have any type of real kitchen at work, just a refrigerator and a toaster oven.)
Alexandra S. December 10, 2017
Hi Hannah,

Sorry for the delay here. Your plan for cooling/wrapping sounds good. The pizza is good at room temp, but if you could cut it into squares and reheat in the toaster oven, I think it would really revive it and improve the experience. Otherwise, room temp is fine. Hope it goes well! Report back!
Hannah B. December 8, 2017
Any suggestions on making and storing this ahead of time? I've made this before and loved it - I'd like to make it again for a work potluck. My thought was to let it cool, wrap in foil and then let come to room temperature at work. (Unfortunately we don't have any type of real kitchen at work, just a refrigerator and a toaster oven.)
lapadia May 9, 2017
A must try!! :)
Fresh T. January 1, 2017
Oh my goodness Alexandra, this was fantastic! I love it. It's one of those dishes that makes me raise my eyebrow in a "will it be good?" question and it was spectacular. I really enjoyed it. I think I made an error by only adding enough apple to cover the top instead of using the whole apple, but it was still wonderful. I used the cast iron skillet (it's so much less cumbersome than the baking steel) and I browned the bottom on top of the stove for 2 minutes. I like to make pizza in my cast iron skillet and i always do this first to ensure a crispy, nice bottom - it hasn't over browned on me once (if I stick to 2 minutes). Thanks for another spectacular recipe suggestion. As always!
Alexandra S. January 2, 2017
So happy to hear this, Dana! A cast iron skillet is so handy/easy — so glad you like the method, too. Happy New Year!!
Mallory December 1, 2016
this might be one of the best things I've made all year. I used the cast iron method, followed the recipe exactly and it was incredible!!!
Alexandra S. December 1, 2016
Yay!! So happy to hear this, Mallory!
Min L. August 10, 2016
Oven baked my Apple tart such as like pizza^^:)) Thanks!
Lauren L. October 20, 2015
Just made it with the cast-iron method. Absolutely delicious. the crust worked perfectly, and everything was nicely browned. Next time I might start the bacon on the stove to get a bit crispier.
Alexandra S. October 21, 2015
So happy to hear this, Lauren. And yes, I should make a note about the bacon — the semi-cookedness of it might not be for everyone. I've been making a potato version recently where I crisp the bacon completely, and I love it that way, too. Thanks for writing in!
KendraMarie October 19, 2015
Any suggestion for a vegetarian bacon replacement?
Alexandra S. October 19, 2015
I would just leave it out. It adds a subtle smokiness, which is nice, but the combination of creme fraiche with apples and onion is delicious without it.
Jara October 5, 2015
Do you always use this technique with the oil and resting for the lahey dough? I'm wondering if that makes it easier to work with the high hydration dough. My last few times making it have been very frustrating, with dough clinging everywhere, and lots of inappropriate language.
Sarah J. October 5, 2015
I actually made this dough just last night and used oil for the first time—it made it SO much easier to smoosh around. Thanks for the tip, Alexandra!
Alexandra S. October 5, 2015
Yay! Sarah, this makes me so happy. I find the oil as well as the 20-minute (or longer) rest so helpful with dough maneuvering.

Jara — give the oil a try! But yes, the 20-minute rest is really helpful, too. I hear you on the inappropriate language: On a recent experiment, I must not have oiled my sheetpan enough, and when the pizza was done, I could not for the life of me remove it from the pan. So, I ended up eating all of the toppings off the dough, then throwing the whole sheetpan in the sink to soak until I could bench scrape the dough off the pan. Very frustrating, and hence the parchment paper suggestion.
violentyoda October 5, 2015
The first time I made the dough, lots of oil and swearing helped. The second time I stretched it on a silicon mat and had almost no problem with it sticking to my hands or anything else. I think I let it rise a bit longer the second time, and that seemed to help. Measured all the ingredients by weight both times.
Sarah J. October 5, 2015
The time I was unsuccessful, I ended up throwing all of the sticky, fragile dough away (after throwing it at my boyfriend) and making pasta instead. I measured it by weight that time, too, but it seemed to work a LOT better this most recent trial for some reason!
Alexandra S. October 6, 2015
Ha, I love it, very resourceful, Sarah!
Alexandra S. October 6, 2015
Violentyoda — good to know re silicon mat. I need to get one. Might help cut back my parchment use.
Alix October 3, 2015
Can you make this using a premade pizza crust (rather than dough)?
Alexandra S. October 4, 2015
I think so. Is the pizza crust already cooked then? I think I would just be sure to keep an eye on this in the oven. As soon as it's bubbling and looking golden around the edges, it will be done soon. You might want to precook the bacon, too.
Karen J. October 3, 2015
This sounds amazing. Over the summer I put peaches and ricotta on pizza, but apples, bacon and with creme fraiche has me running to the store. Thank you!
Alexandra S. October 3, 2015
ohhh, that sounds so good! I am loving this combination right now. Hope you like it too.