Apple Cinnamon Tart

I'm in Bliss ;) Its absolutely because I could bake something so yummy from scratch. :)

Tart and pies are few of my favorite desserts. The crispy crust with soft and sweet topping makes me melt for them. :)

A tart is a pastry dish, usually sweet, with an open top not covered with pastry. Sweetened fruit is arranged on pastry, often puff pastry, with or without custard, after which the tart is baked in an oven says wikipedia. Wow, tat definition is making me drool :)

I made two apple tarts and few tartlets. The little ones were so cute and all of us at home enjoyed them. :)

It was total fun to set the apples on top and I thoroughly enjoyed making them. Hope you all would too :)

Ingredients:

For Tart base:

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups
Butter - 75 gms
Powdered sugar - 2 tbl sp
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Salt - a pinch

For Topping:

Granny smith apples(green apples) / Red apples - 2
Sugar
Honey
Cinnamon powder

Method:

To make the pastry base from scratch, we need to make the pastry dough.

Sift all purpose flour, powdered sugar and salt together and put them in a mixing bowl.

Cut the cold butter into chunks and add it to the bowl as well. Rub in the butter with your hands till it resembles fine crumbs. Now add just enough cold water to it and mix well till everything comes together into a fine dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 30 mins.

Roll out the dough on lightly floured surface until it is 1/4 inch thick and slightly bigger than the size of your tart pan.

Grease your tart pan with removable base lightly. Line the base of the tart pan with the rolled pastry. Press the dough at the sides of the pan slowly and then run the rolling pin once on the pan to cut off the excess dough. Chill the lined pan for 15 mins or so to minimize shrinking before cooking.

At this stage you have two options to go about. Either set the toppings on the tart lined pan and bake directly or go for a baking blind method.

Baking at ones method:

Choose fresh green apples(Granny Smith). I dint get them, hence used fresh red apples.

Cut the top and bottom of the apple and peel the skin using a peeler. Now slice them evenly and arrange them as you like on the tart. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon powder on top of the apples.

Preheat oven to 375°F or 190°C. And place the tart pans on the center rack and bake for 25-30 mins at 190°C.

Cool it on a wire rack for a while and glaze the tart with some honey or apricot glaze. :)

Baking blind method:

This rather strange term really means just to bake the lined tart without topping.

Prick the pastry base with fork to make holes.

Now line it with grease proof paper. Half fill the tin with fried macaroni or baking beans to hold the pastry in shape.

I skipped the above step and just made enough holes so tat the pastry does not raise when baked.

Preheat oven to 375°F or 190°C.

Bake at 190°C for 10-15 mins until the base is dry and crisp with a light golden shade.

Now allow the pastry to cool down for ten mins and then slightly rub with butter and arranged the sliced apples on top. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon powder and bake for 25-30 mins at 190°C.

Cool it on a wire rack for a while and glaze the tart with some honey or apricot glaze. :)

Extremely yummy and simple apple cinnamon tart is ready to eat :)

This quantity would suffice a 9" pan. But I used two 3" pans and few tartlet moulds.

Happy making. :)

I tried both the methods and the crust was pretty different in both.

The direct method gives a slightly softer base with crisp corners and the baking blind method gave me a uniform texture all over. I liked it both the ways ;)

You can check out for a video of this recipe by Chef Chris Thielman here.

Written by: Nithya
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