Apple Crumble Tartlets 🍏 are a gorgeous 3-in-1 treat. An apple and sultana filling, spiced with cinnamon and maple syrup, surrounded by a soft, sweet pastry and topped with an oat and almond crumble topping.
Fabulous hot or cold.
This is a lovely fall/autumnal recipe that produces an Apple Crumble Tartlet which is reminiscent of a mince pie but with more apple and less mincemeat! So if you can't decide between an apple pie or an apple crumble, give these little tartlets a go and get the best of both worlds!
They work superbly well as a dessert with vanilla ice cream, or some Proper English Vanilla Custard or simply just on their own with a cup of tea.
I did try these Apple Crumble Tartlets with ground cloves instead of ground cinnamon. Personally, I liked the result but my husband and son number 2, voted in favour of cinnamon, so, as a safe bet, I have included ground cinnamon in the recipe, which is divine.
This recipe is a bit of a mash-up. I have used the pastry base from my Coconut tarts with strawberry jam and the apple filling from my Vegan Apple Cake, although this is not a vegan recipe. The crumble topping came about because I'm a total sucker for my dad's homemade mince pies which he tops with crumble, and which are just out of this world!
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! If you make them please do leave me a comment or just a star rating if you can 😁.
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Why make these Apple Crumble Tartlets?
Delicious autumn/fall flavours ✔️
Spiced with cinnamon maple syrup ✔️
Individual little tarts just big enough for two mouthfuls ✔️
Three different contrasting textures ✔️
Keep well for up to a week ✔️
Equipment
Tart tins
Pastry brush
Food processor (optional)
Large bowl (if not using food processor)
Frying pan
Wooden spoon
Large baking tray
Ingredients and Substitutions
Pastry Base
Plain flour: we use plain flour for our pastry so that it does not rise when baked.
Salt: salt is added to the pastry to give it flavour. Salt also strengthens gluten and therefore adds strength to the pastry dough.
Unsalted butter: our butter needs to be straight from the fridge. This produces a lovely crisp pastry.
Icing sugar (confectioners sugar): we're making a sweet pastry for these Apple Crumble Tartlets, therefore we use icing sugar. It is more refined than caster sugar and contains some cornflour (cornstarch) which again helps to keep the pastry crisp.
Milk: we add milk to our sweet pastry to transform it into a pliable dough; it also adds flavour and helps our pastry to brown.
Egg: an egg is used to bind our sweet pastry dough together.
Apple Crumble Tartlet Filling
Unsalted butter: we use a knob of butter to sauté our cooking apples.
Bramley Apples: one very large cooking apple (or two medium apples) are chopped into small pieces. We use Bramley apples in these Apple Crumble Tartlets as they hold their shape and structure when cooked. As an alternative, you can use crisp eating apples.
Sultanas: these are added to the apples when we sauté them which reconstitutes them so that they are nice and juicy.
Cinnamon: not too much is added as this is a powerhouse of a spice, just enough to give a little touch of cinnamon goodness.
Maple syrup: we add maple syrup and then cook it down with the apples to form a sticky sauce that wraps around the fruit.
Apple Crumble Tartlet Topping
Rolled oats: or you can use porridge oats. Oats give a nutty flavour and a contrasting texture to the apple crumble topping.
Demerara sugar: I first used soft brown sugar in these apple tartlets but it produced a bit of a dull texture. Demerara adds both flavour and lots of crunch.
Plain (all-purpose) flour: to give the crumble topping its consistency.
Unsalted butter: your butter and flour combined to provide the basis of your crumble topping.
Instructions
See end of post RECIPE CARD for precise quantities and instructions.
Add your flour, salt and icing sugar to your food processor and give it a whizz to mix it together (or mix by hand).
Then, add your cubed cold butter evenly over the flour mixture. Mix on pulse mode until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (or rub the butter in by hand).
Next, add in your egg, vanilla extract and milk. Mix in short pulses until the pastry starts to clump together.
Tip your dough mixture out onto a lightly floured work surface and bring it together with your hands to form a ball, it will be quite soft.
Flatten your dough until it is about 1 inch thick and then cover in clingfilm. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
When your dough has chilled weigh it out into 15 balls of about 20 grams. Flatten each ball in your palm and then press into your greased tartlet cases. Push the pastry around the base and up the sides of the tartlet case. Chill again whilst you make your filling.
Heat your butter until it starts to just sizzle, then add in your chopped apples and sultanas.
Sauté briefly on a medium heat then add in your maple syrup, vanilla extract and cinnamon.
Continue to sauté until the syrup becomes a little thicker then leave to cool.
Once cool add a tablespoon to each tartlet.
To make your Apple Crumble Tartlet topping, place your flour in your food processor and dot over your cubed cold butter.
Whizz until sand-like.
Add in your oats and demerara and whizz together briefly to mix. Then stir in your flaked almonds.
Sprinkle over your apple tartlets and press down lightly to secure.
Place onto your heated baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges of the pastry cases and the crumble topping are browned.
Leave to cool in the tartlets tins for 10 minutes, or until cool enough to handle. Then invert into your hand and leave to continue to cool.
Top Tips
- Chop your apples just before you sauté them, to prevent them from oxidising and turning brown. If you want to stop oxidisation further add some lemon juice, but if you do you will need to add a little more sugar or maple syrup for sweetness.
- The filling has a slight amout of tartness to it, but the sweet pasty and topping ensure there is plenty of sweetness throughout. If you do want a bit more sweetness though just mix in a teaspoon of caster (superfine) sugar into the apple mixture whilst it is cooling.
- Make additional pastry and crumble and freeze it, then you can easily whip up a batch of these Apple Crumble Tartlets in a flash!
Storage
These Apple Crumble Tartlets will keep in an airtight container for up to a week, the pastry will go a little softer but to be honest that makes them all the more delicious!
You can also freeze them. Consume within 3 months.
Did you try this recipe?
Please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the Recipe Card below.
FAQ
Why saute the apples and sultanas first?
Why use Bramley cooking apples and not eating apples in these apple tartlets?
Why heat your baking tray first?
Linked Recipes
Coconut tarts with strawberry jam
📖 Recipe
Apple Crumble Tartlets
Here's what you'll need...
- Frying pan
- Baking tray
Ingredients you'll need...
Apple Crumble Tart Pastry
- 150 g plain flour plus extra for dusting (US = 1 Cup and 1 tbsp)
- pinch of fine salt
- 50 g icing sugar (confectioners sugar) (6½ tbsp)
- 75 g unsalted butter cold and cubed (US = ½ cup or 1 stick) plus a little extra softened to grease your tartlet tin
- 1 egg yolk (US = 1 extra large egg yolk)
- 2½ tablespoon milk chilled
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Apple and Sultana Filling
- 15g unsalted butter (knob of butter)
- 220 g Bramley cooking apples (1 large Bramley cooking apple)
- 60 g sultanas (US = ⅓ Cup)
- 2½ tablespoon dark muscovado sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Apple Crumble Topping
- 70 g plain flour (all-purpose flour) (US = ¼ Cup)
- 40 g demerara sugar (3½ tbsp)
- 40 g unsalted butter (3 tbsp)
- 30 g rolled oats (or porridge oats)
- 2 tablespoon flaked almonds
Here's what we do...
Apple Crumble Tartlet Pastry
- Add your flour, salt and icing sugar to your food processor and give it a whizz to combine evenly. Or you can mix it together in a large bowl.
- Dot over your cubed cold butter and pulse for about 20 pulses until the mixture becomes sand like. Or rub in by hand.
- Add your cold egg yolk, vanilla extract and milk and pulse for about 10 pulses by which time the mixture should be starting to form some clumpy boulders of various sizes.
- Lightly flour your worksurface and tip your pastry mixture out.
- Bring the pastry gently together into a ball, it will not need kneading as will be quite soft.
- Flatten the dough to a depth of about 1 inch, wrap in cling film (saran wrap) and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Grease your tartlet cases by "painting" softened butter into the tins with your pastry brush, making sure you get into every crevice.
- Weigh out your chilled tartlet dough into 15 balls of about 20 grams each.
- Flatten each dough ball in your palm until it is roughly about 5cm in diameter then insert it into the tartlet case.
- Push the dough in the base and around the sides of the tin so it is evenly spread. Make sure that the dough reaches the top of the fluted sides of the tins, if it goes over brush it off and re-add to the basebase or sides elsewhere rattherthan discard, every bit is needed per tartlet.
- Refridgerate again for 15 minutes.
- Whilst your tartlets are in your fridge make your apple and sultana filling.
Apple Crumble Tartlet Topping
- Add your knob of butter to your large frying pan and melt until just starting to sizzle.
- Whilst waiting, chop your apples into cubes of about 1cm square and toss in your muscovado sugar to coat. Don't worry if they go a bit brown, but if you are concerned just cover in some lemon juice to prevent oxidistion.
- Add your sugared apples to your melted butter along with your sultanas.
- Sauté on a medium heat for a minute tossing around with your wooden spoon.
- Add your maple syrup, vanilla essence and ground cinnamon and sauté for another minute, constantly stirring.
- Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
- Heat your over to 160°C fan/180°C/355°F/Gas mark 4 and place your baking tray in the centre to heat.
- Remove your chilled tartlet cases from your fridge and fill with 1 packed tablespoon of your apple and sultana mixture (give it a stir first so that the syrup is evenly dispersed over the fruit).
Apple Crumble Tartlet Topping
- Add your flour to your food processor and dot over your chilled butter in small pieces. Or rub the butter in using your fingertips until sand-like.
- Pulse about 15 times to turn the mixture into a sand like consistency.
- Add in your oats, demerara sugar and whizz briefly to mix in. Or, just stir in.
- Stir in your flaked almonds.
- Sprinkle your crumble mixture over your apple tarts, each one will take about 1½ teaspoons, then press it down slightly to secure.
- Place onto your heated baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden on top. In particlar the edges of the pastry cases should be browned, so that you know the pastry is baked.
- Leave to cool for about 10 minutes on your cooling rack until the tins are cool enough to handle, then invert one onto your hand and give it a little squeeze to release from the tin. Leave to continue cooling.
Supporting Notes
- Chop your apples just before you sauté them, to prevent them from oxidising and turning brown. If you want to stop oxidisation further add some lemon juice, but if you do you will need to add a little more sugar or maple syrup for sweetness.
- The filling has a slight amout of tartness to it, but the sweet pasty and topping ensure there is plenty of sweetness throughout. If you do want a bit more sweetness though just mix in a teaspoon of caster (superfine) sugar into the apple mixture whilst it is cooling.
- Make additional pastry and crumble and freeze it, then you can easily whip up a batch of these Apple Crumble Tartlets in a flash!
Linda says
These look amazing! And I'm gonna copy your Dad's idea and put crumble on top of my mince pies this year as it sounds so yummy! Just one thing - I don't have a food processor. How can I make the crumble please? I have a hand and a stand mixer and a mashing up thing - don't know what it's called! Tall Electric thing with little blades that you can mash up baby food and smooth out mirror glaze! Thanks a lot. By the way I have made loads of your recipes and found them really easy and so tasty!
Ella's Better Bakes says
Hi! Great to hear that you like my recipes, that's wonderful! Yes, my dad's mince pies are legendary, so do try the crumble topping option. Regards making the crumble, you don't need to use a food processor (in fact I will update the recipe to say that), just rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips, then stir in the oats, sugar and almonds. Hope your tartlets turn out well, I love this recipe!