Tarte Soleil Appetizer: 5 Ways

Tarte Soleil Appetizer is a French-inspired pull-apart puff pastry that always makes the greatest impression among your guests. It comes here in 5 easy ways and different fillings, so you never run out of options!

An easy (and impressive) finger food recipe

With its impressive and artistic design, this twisted pastry can be intimidating at first. But it’s actually very easy to make! Plus it’s the perfect party food when you have guests showing up at the last minute – yes, at the last minute. With minimal effort, tarte soleil makes an easy appetizer recipe to entertain at your next gathering party, with the most wow effect every single time.

Tarte soleil belongs to the shareable appetizer recipe, alongside with the pizza star ring and the Rosemary Sweet Potato Bread Wreath with Baked Camembert. Among the 3 of them, tarte soleil is by far the simplest one to prepare. Remember that despite what we usually think, French people have a way to make home cooking incredibly simple, and this tarte soleil (French for sun tart) is no exception. Now let me guide you through the recipe. To make it easier for you, I prepared a step-by-step tutorial at the end of this post.

Which crust to use to make tarte soleil?

Most of the time, a store-bought puff pastry will do. You need 2 equal size circles of puff pastry for the recipe. Alternatively, you can prepare a homemade puff pastry,use a traditional pie crust, or even a pizza crust. These two last options are less commonly used for a tarte soleil, but I personally like to use a traditional pie crust, that holds its shape beautifully. In the end, it’s mostly a matter of taste when it comes to the texture, so I leave it to you here. Just remember that you have options.

Now, how to shape the tarte soleil?

Please make sure you check my tutorial below. As you can see, it’s pretty simple. Just roll out the dough into a circle onto a cookie sheet and spread the filling of your choice over, leaving some space around the edge. Dab edges with water, then, cover with the second circle of dough.

At this point, place a glass in the middle of the circle, and using a sharp knife, cut into quarters. Cut each quarter into three equal parts, and each of them into two parts. In the end, you will have 6 “rays” in each quarter, and 24 rays in the entire circle.

Grab each strip, and gently twist it a couple of times. Repeat again with all the strips, and the tarte soleil is born! Easy, right?

How to garnish my tarte soleil?

Because I like to have plenty of options depending on the occasion, and because the tarte soleil is a super versatile concept that works both in sweet and savory versions, I decided to leave you with a few options rather than just one. These are mostly suggestions, and you can of course mix and match the ingredients as you like. Note that all options are on the savory side though, as I wanted to keep the idea of a shareable appetizer.

5 filling options:

• Tapenade & ricotta – Layer them on top of each other. The ricotta underneath balances the strong flavors of tapenade. Alternatively, you can skip the ricotta.
• Goat cheese & sun-dried tomatoes – Start with mixing the sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor until you get a thick paste. Spread over the crust, then sprinkle some fresh goat cheese on top. If you’d like, you can add a few basil leaves on top.
• Homemade garlic butter – All you need is to mix together softened butter, minced garlic and parsley. Because butter will spread out easily when you will need to twist the strips, I recommend to pop the crust in the freezer for about 5 minutes to make sure it is ready to handle and shape the twists.
• Basil pesto – Mix the basil pesto with the grated parmesan cheese in order to get a rather thick paste that stays in place even when you make the twists. If the texture is still too runny, pop the crust in the freezer a couple of minutes, then shape the twists.
• Tomato sauce and parmesan – This combination will make your tarte soleil taste like a pizza, or almost. I use some tomato paste rather than classic tomato sauce to ensure the filling is not too runny. Add some herbs, salt and pepper, and you have your own tomato sauce – or almost.

Once the tarte soleil is garnished with the filling of your choice, brush with beaten eggs, and sprinkle some sesame on top if you wish. Bake until golden and get ready to impress your guests: tear off ray of sun, and enjoy!

More appetizer recipe ideas:

• Herb Parmesan Scones
• How To Make a Perfect Cheese Board
• Strawberry Tomato Bruschetta
• Puff Pastry Christmas Tree Appetizer
• Sweet Potato Bread Wreath with Baked Camembert
• Whole Wheat Mediterranean Pizza Star Ring
• Cranberry Pecan Cheese Balls

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Tarte Soleil: A step-by-step guide