Apple tarts

First let me apologize for the quality of the photos, my digital camera is on its last legs; however, I am getting a new one for Xmas, so relief is on the way soon.

A couple of weekends ago I made cranberry tarts, this week it will be apple. The big problem I find with apple tarts is getting the apple mixture cooked just right – ending up with a buttery brown-sugar caramel syrup instead of apple juice, which is naturally released by the cooking and which will make the crust soggy if you keep the tarts for a couple of days. My solution is to partially precook the apple mixture and thicken it up. I also prefer to use more than one type of apple, using Gala, Ambrosia, and other types like Pink Lady – mixing the tart with the sweet. It gives it a more complex taste. Here is how I make it.

Filling:

• 7-8 apples of various types
• Juice 1 lemon
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 ounces cold water

Peel, then slice the apples into nice crescent shaped wedges (1/4″ thick max.). Mix the lemon juice in the with apples to keep them fresh and from turning brown.

Once the apples are cut, put the brown sugar and butter in a pot on moderate heat and cook until you have a nice thick brown syrup. This takes approximately 3-5 minutes.

Add the apples and lemon juice to the syrup and cook until the apples are partially cooked. They should release some juice and the syrup should be all watery now. To be honest I am not sure how long this takes, maybe 5-10 minutes. The point is you don’t want to cook the apples completely as they are also going to get baked in the oven. Now add just enough of the cornstarch mixture to thicken the syrup to the consistency you like. Start with half and see how well it thickens – if that is not enough add a bit more. Stir well.

The trick here is to add just enough of the cornstarch mixture so that it becomes syrupy and still pours without making it gloopy. If it thickens too much, you can also add some water to thin it out – don’t worry, it will still have a deep buttery brown sugar taste. Remove from the heat and put aside.

Time to make the dough. First preheat the oven to 400F. I use the same dough recipe that I use for my cranberry tarts and you can refer to the cranberry tarts entry for the details. Just remember not to overwork the dough.

Dough:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces butter

For the cranberry tarts I used low wide tart molds, for the apple tarts I prefer to use ramekins (2″ high by 2.5″ wide). Once the dough is made, cut it evenly into six pieces and roll the pieces into 9″ circles. Carefully place the dough into the mold so that it covers the bottom and all the sides with a little left over on each side to fold over the top.

Spoon in the apple mixture.

Then fold the pastry dough so that it covers up part of the top. Sprinkle sugar over the top of the dough. Place all the tarts on a cookie sheet with edges, just in case they overflow when cooking. Put in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes depending on how brown you like the crust.