Apple Almond Tart
Sweet almond pastry crust topped with almond cream, caramelized apples, apple butter and crumb topping. finished tart is brushed with caramel sauce and garnished with candied almond pieces. Served warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
Equipment
- 1 (9-inch) removable bottom tart pan
Ingredients
Sweet Almond Pastry Crust:
- 113 grams unsalted butter (1/2 cup OR 1 stick)
- 24 grams powdered sugar (3 tablespoons)
- 30 grams egg, beaten (2 tablespoons)
- 3 grams vanilla bean paste or extract (1/2 teaspoon)
- 128 grams all-purpose flour (1 cup)
- 25 grams almond flour (2 tablespoons)
Almond Cream:
- 40 grams powdered sugar (5 tablespoons)
- 70 grams unsalted butter (5 tablespoons)
- 3 grams vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon)
- 3 grams heavy cream (1/2 teaspoon)
- 50 grams egg (1 large), beaten
- 60 grams almond flour (5 tablespoons)
- 16 grams all-purpose flour (2 tablespoons)
Caramelized Apples:
- 14 grams unsalted butter (1 tablespoon)
- 36 grams light brown sugar (3 tablespoons)
- 1200 grams peeled, cored and thickly sliced apple (about 5 large baking apples)
- 3 grams ground cinnamon (1 teaspoon)
- 30 grams apple cider OR apple juice OR water (2 tablespoons)
- 5 grams fresh lemon juice (1 teaspoon)
Crumb Topping:
- 42 grams all-purpose flour (1/3 cup)
- 33 grams almond flour (1/3 cup)
- 60 grams granulated sugar (5 tablespoons)
- 42 grams unsalted butter (3 tablespoons), cold + cubed
- 2 grams fine sea salt (1/2 teaspoon)
Candied Almonds:
- 30 grams egg white (from 1 large egg)
- 5 grams vanilla bean paste OR vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
- 10 grams tablespoon water (2 teaspoons)
- 224 grams whole almonds (8 ounces), skin on or off
- 50 grams granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
- 1 gram ground cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon)
- 3 grams fine sea salt (1/2 teaspoon)
Tart Assembly:
- 40 grams caramel sauce (2 tablespoons), warm
- 80 grams apple butter (1/4 cup)
Instructions
Sweet Almond Pastry Crust:
- Cream butter and powdered sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add beaten egg and vanilla bean paste to stand mixer. Beat on low until combined.
- Add all-purpose flour and almond flour to stand mixer. Beat on low just until combined.
- Flatten dough into disk. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Bring dough to room temperature. Roll dough into 11-inch circle on lightly floured flat surface. Fit dough into bottom and sides of 9-inch removable bottom tart pan. Trim edges. Using a fork, prick the dough on the bottom of the pan in a dozen or so evenly spaced places.
- Line dough with parchment paper. Fill parchment with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Remove pie weights and parchment paper. Cool sweet pastry crust to room temperature.
Almond Cream:
- Add powdered sugar and unsalted butter to stand mixer bowl. Cream with paddle attachment on medium speed until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add vanilla bean paste, heavy cream, and egg to stand mixer bowl. Beat on low until combined.
- Add almond flour and all-purpose flour to stand mixer bowl. Beat on low until cream is smooth.
- Transfer cream to small bowl. Cover bowl with plastic. Chill until ready to use.
Caramelized Apples:
- Add unsalted butter and brown sugar to large skillet. Heat over medium heat until butter and brown sugar have melted and begin to bubble.
- Add apple slices and ground cinnamon to skillet. Sauté over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add apple cider and fresh lemon juice to skillet. Simmer apples 10 additional minutes or until apples are opaque and have softened considerably.
- Remove from heat and cool completely. Set aside.
Crumb Topping:
- Add all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar, unsalted butter, and salt to mixing bowl.
- Combine ingredients using pastry blender or the back of a fork until mixture resembles coarse sand.
Candied Almonds:
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a cookie or baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat mat.
- Add egg white, vanilla bean paste and water to small bowl. Whisk until frothy, about 2 minutes.
- Add almonds to egg white mixture. Stir to combine.
- Add sugar, cinnamon, and sea salt to small bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add sugar mixture to almonds. Stir to coat.
- Spread coated almonds evenly in single layer with space onto prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes.
- Remove cookie sheet from oven and place on wire rack. Cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for several weeks at room temperature.
Tart Assembly:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place a baking sheet on the lower third rack.
- Top sweet pastry crust with almond cream. Spread evenly with offset spatula.
- Arrange caramelized apples over almond cream.
- Spread apple butter over caramelized apples. Smooth apple butter with offset spatula.
- Sprinkle reserved almond crumb topping over apple butter.
- Bake until topping is golden, about 45 minutes.
- Remove tart from oven and cool on wire rack. Remove tart from tart pan.
- Brush tart top with warm caramel sauce. Sprinkle with chopped candied almonds.
- Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.