An apple a day? Not really, but whenever there are apples, they call for an Apple Tart

When went for buying young coconuts this morning, I came across a fruit seller that had local apples on display. The small ones are always a bit sour, but that makes them perfect for baking a tart with them.

So, here we go with another apple tart recipe for our afternoon coffee.

A perfect addition to an afternoon coffee

The apple tart is very easy to make, especially if you’re already familiar with my preferred pie crust, as I used the sweet version of it, again.

Ingredients:

For the dough (I used the same crust as in my coconut pie):

• 250 g all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 7 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons oil

For the filling*:

• 1 kg apples (I personally prefer rather sour ones for cooking**)
• About 1 teaspoon of lemon/lime juice
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 200 ml coconut milk/cream (santan kelapa)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar (for sprinkling at the end of the baking process)

Preparation:

Firstly, prepare the crust by pouring the flour into a bowl, and adding the sugar. Mix well with a pair of chopsticks.

Pour the water, oil, and the egg into a tall cup (I use the one of my immersion blender), and beat with a pair of chopsticks until you have a homogeneous liquid.

While stirring the flour/sugar mixture with your chopsticks, gradually add the liquid mixture, and continue stirring until the dough starts to form.

Set the chopsticks aside and continue kneading with your hands until you end up with a soft dough. If the dough is too dry and crumbly, add some more water, but be very careful not to add too much water.

Cover the bowl with a lid, and let the dough rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

The apple tart is ready to be baked

Sprinkling brown sugar on top of the tart at the end of the baking process

In the meantime, we’ll prepare the filling by peeling, de-choring the apples, and cutting them into slices. Place the apple slices inside a bowl, and drizzle with some lemon or lime juice to prevent them from turning brown.

When the dough has finished resting, roll it to a circle that is about 3-4 cm larger than your pie pan. Either directly roll the dough on a piece of baking paper, or grease and flour your pie pan. I usually go with the baking paper as it makes cleaning afterwards much more easy.

Place the dough inside the pie pan, and form the border by pressing the dough evenly into the pan with your fingers.

Pinch the dough’s surface with a fork, and sprinkle the tablespoon of flour on top of it.

The apple tart is ready to be enjoyed

Arrange the apple slices tightly in circles.

For the glaze, pour the coconut milk/cream into a tall cup, add the egg, corn starch, sugar and vanilla powder, and mix with the whisk attachment of your immersion blender or a hand whisk until you have a homogeneous liquid.

Pour the glaze evenly on top of the apple slices. I usually start from the border, and work my way to the center of the apple pie.

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit), bottom heat only, on the middle rack for about 60 minutes.

Wanna have a slice, too?

Then, take the apple tart out of the oven, sprinkle the surface with brown sugar, turn on top heat, and bake for another 10 minutes or until the sugar has caramelized.

The apple tart tasted delicious and was devoured in no time

Take the finished apple tart out of the oven, and let it cool down inside the pie pan for about 10 minutes. Then, remove it carefully from the pie pan and enjoy either while still warm, or when it has cooled down completely.

The slightly sour taste of the apples pairs perfectly well with the sweetness of the glaze. If you want, you can also add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the tart for extra deliciousness.

The perfect addition to your Sunday afternoon coffee, isn’t it?

* unfortunately, my cinnamon powder was finished, and there was none on stock when I went to buy groceries, but of course you can add a sprinkle or more cinnamon powder to the recipe, if you wish.

** I don’t even know if apples of the type Boskop still exist, but back in Europe, when I was still a kid, these were the perfect ones for baking, as they were a bit sour and had a slightly floury consistency