See that tart up there? I made that, and in making it, I feel as though I invented the wheel or the iPad or something. Now for everyone out there who is a born baker this is no great accomplishment. Among all the food writers and bakers and chefs I know, making a dessert is no problem. I’ve seen perfect cakes, towers of delicately iced cookies, immaculately crusted pies, meringues that look like the Himalyas, cunningly iced cupcakes and all manner of other delights. I have generally been in awe of such things because for 99% of the year I really do not bake. When the holidays come around, I crank out a pumpkin or mince pie, (the repertoire ends there) a few cookies and maybe, just maybe the occasional cheese cake.
It’s not like I don’t have the baking equipment. I do. I have Madelaine pans, cookie sheets and angel food cake pans, spring form molds and pie and cake pans galore. It’s just that I never use them. I love to buy them though. I don’t know what sort of sickness this is. Maybe it’s an offshoot of the people who buy shoes and hide them in the back of the closet and never wear them, (I’ve done that too) but this is much worse. Baking equipment makes me feel all cozy and homey and long winter’s nappey. Plus as long as I have the equipment and I can look at it, it’s not like I’m actually eating any of the cakes and pies etc and therefore my butt gets no bigger. It’s some sort of vicarious thrill that even I don’t understand. I just keep acquiring the stuff and never do anything with it. Well, all that ended the other day. 
Thursday we remembered that we had booked a dinner date with Alan’s cousin Joanie who was coming up from Berkeley with a friend. Usually that kind of news sends me into the planning stages for a multi-course Indian company feast, but with the mass of work we’re involved in right now, cooking a big complicated Indian dinner was a definite no no. Not that I couldn’t put something simple together, but I wanted the evening to be special. I decided to prepare a simple classical Americana home-style harvest dinner.
I thought I was all set. Then I remembered, or rather forgot about dessert. That’s when the trouble started. Give me an Indian meal and I can plan a perfect dessert. Give me an American style meal… not so much. I get totally lost and usually end up making ice cream or strawberry shortcake… but mostly ice cream. With an American menu, unless it’s Thanksgiving (pie) or Christmas, (my mom brings something) I’m lost.
Now when I mentioned my mom brings something for Christmas I don’t mean she actually makes anything. If I am not a baker, my mom is really, really and truly not a baker. We like to tease that she invented lava cake eons ago. Only it wasn’t chocolate, the icing was puke green (hey it was St . Patricks Day) and the stuff that came out when it was cut was not a filling, it was the cake batter itself because she never ever pre-heated (pre-heating is for sissies) her oven which brought about some pretty interesting results. We stopped her baking quite a few years ago and she’s now found a wonderful bakery which takes care of all the family’s cake and pastry needs. So when it comes to planning a dessert, I wasn’t picking up the phone to mom to ask for advice. Instead, I turned to Twitter.
I put out a call for help and my Twitter friends answered. I got great suggestions from @janis_tester and @WickedRandom which led me attempt an apple tart. After all, among all the rest of the baking junk I have around the house, I am the proud owner of two virgin tart pans, a 9″ and an 11″. It was time to put them to use. I searched around the internet and came up with a recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine November 2006 edition. All praise to Lord Google.
It was an Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce, or as the recipe put it, Caramel Apples for adults! Wheee. Sounds racy! Apples and caramel. Thrills spills and challenges, especially the caramel part.
Apple Caramel Tart
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Description
This apple tart, drizzled with a rich caramel sauce, offers a sophisticated twist on the classic caramel apple, perfect for an adult palate.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups tightly packed dark brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 and 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 1 and 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 2 tablespoons ice water
- 4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Unsweetened whipped cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Prepare a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom by lightly greasing it.
- To make the caramel sauce, combine 1 and 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, and 1 and 1/2 cups whipping cream in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking often. Continue to boil until the mixture thickens enough to coat a spoon, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
- For the crust, mix 1 and 1/4 cups flour, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter pieces and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and mix with a fork until dough clumps together. Press dough into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared tart pan. Freeze the crust for 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, toss the apple slices with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Arrange the apple slices over the crust in a circular pattern.
- Bake the tart in the preheated oven until the apples are tender and the crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let the tart cool in the pan on a rack.
- Before serving, drizzle the tart with the warm caramel sauce. Serve with unsweetened whipped cream on the side.
Notes
Serve the tart with unsweetened whipped cream to balance the sweetness of the caramel. The tart can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator; reheat before serving. Use Granny Smith apples for their tartness, which complements the sweet caramel. If the caramel sauce becomes too thick, gently reheat it to bring back the desired consistency.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 35
- Sodium: 150
- Fat: 18
- Carbohydrates: 50
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 45
It looked and smelled great and I got it out of the tart pan in one piece. I was so freaking proud of myself! I was rocking my inner Julia Child. I served the tart with unsweetened whipped cream and a drizzle of warm caramel sauce.
They loved it, and I mean really and truly Sally Field time loved it! I’m definitely making this again and it has emboldened me to take out some of that other baking equipment that I’ve got squirreled away and start experimenting.
your recipe leaves out the sugar for the filling in the ingredients list and also leaves out that you require a 9″ pie plate with removable bottom.
Thanks for the quick reply. I am looking forward to making it.
Carolann,
so sorry..here’s the info you seek. Cannot vouch for the slimming properties of this dessert, as I have been unable to find them. ; )
The tart pan is 10 inches
1 cup flour = 125g
6 Tbs of butter =85.05 grams
1 and 1/2 cup brown sugar= 300 grams
1 and 1/2 cup whipping cream= 0.35 litre
3/4 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar) = 93.75 grams
do you need any other measures?..let me know
It sounds delicious but I’ve fallen at the first hurdle. I am English and don’t understand a few things about the ingredients. What does a cup equal in grams or ounces and what weight is a stick of butter?
Also, what size tart pan did you use in the end?
Thanks and I await your reply so I can try this ‘terribly slimming’ dessert!
What a lovely treat!