Apple Cake Tartlets
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
These tartlets are the perfect seasonal pairing for an afternoon cup of tea or coffee.
Ingredients
for the apples
- 3 lbs (1.35 kg) (7-8 apples) Granny Smith Apples
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) sugar
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
- 2 lemon slices, plus 1 tbsp of lemon juice to sprinkle on sliced apples
for the pastry
- 2 cups (480 ml) sifted all purpose flour
- 1 & 1/4 cups (300 ml) sugar
- 10 tbsp (150 ml) unsalted butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
for tops of tartlets
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, mix the cinnamon and sugar together
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) unsalted butter
Instructions
to make the apples
- Peel and slice the apples, sprinkle with tbsp of lemon juice. Simmer the apple slices in the water with sugar and lemon slices. Cook until just tender, don’t overcook as apple slices will become mushy.
- Drain off any leftover liquid, cool and remove lemon slices.
- preheat the oven to 350F and spray 6 4″ tartlet pans with baking spray, place on parchment lined baking sheet
to make the pastry
- Mix together flour, sugar and baking powder.
- Cut in the 10 tbsp of butter with pastry blender or hands, until the mixture is crumbly.
- Mix in the egg yolks.
- Reserve 1 cup of the pastry mixture for the crumb topping.
to put together the apple cake tartlets
- Divide up the remaining pastry mixture, evenly press into the bottoms and up the sides of the tartlet pans.
- Fill each tartlet with apple slices and top with the reserved pastry (crumb topping) mixture.
- Dot each tartlet with butter and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool on the baking sheet until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.
- Remove the side rings and continue cooling until cool enough to remove the tartlet pan bottoms, continue to cool.
- Serve slightly warm, vanilla ice cream would be a good thing.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tartlet
- Calories: 430
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the recipe specify Granny Smith apples?
Granny Smith apples are used because they’re firm and tart, which helps them hold their shape when simmered in the sugar-water-lemon liquid rather than turning mushy. The recipe specifically warns not to overcook the apples at this step, and a firm variety like Granny Smith gives you a wider window before they break down.
What is the purpose of reserving 1 cup of the pastry mixture for the topping?
The same dough — flour, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 10 tbsp butter, egg yolks, and baking powder — does double duty: the bulk is pressed into the tartlet pans to form the crust, while the reserved cup is crumbled over the apple filling to create a streusel-like topping. This one-dough approach gives the tartlets their signature cake-like top that bakes to golden brown in 45 minutes.
No rating provided. The pastry ingredients, as written, cannot be correct. I followed exactly as written and was left with what looked like a bowl of flour. Two egg yolks did very little to moisten the “dough.”
Perhaps the recipe should have been written for 1 c. of flour instead of 2.
Sorry to hear that! We will take a look and update if needed!
Why would you add water to the apples?