Apple Crumble Tart
Spiced Apple Crumble Tart with sauteed apples in spice and brown sugar and a crunchy crumble topping combining oats, brown sugar and almonds.
Servings: 8 slices
Calories:
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Alter quantities (metric only) 8 slices
Here's what you'll need...
- Food processor optional
- Foil
- Baking beans
- Vegetable peeler
- Knife to chop apples with
- Large wok or non-stick frying pan
- 2 Wooden spoons
- Fork or tongues
- Paper towel or 2 clean tea towels
Ingredients you'll need...
Pastry Case
- 220 g Plain (all-purpose) flour 1 Cup + 9 tablespoons
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Fine salt
- 40 g Icing sugar ⅓ Cup
- 115 g Unsalted butter ½ Cup - cold, straight from the fridge plus a little extra softened to grease your tin.
- 1 Egg yolk from a large egg (US = extra large) must be cold
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoon Milk cold
Apple Crumble Topping
- 75 g Plain (all-purpose) flour ½ Cup
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 55 g Unsalted butter 4 tablespoons, cold straight from the fridge
- 50 g Dark brown sugar ¼ Cup packed
- 40 g Rolled oats ½ Cup
- 2 tablespoon Flaked almonds
Apple Tart Filling
- 4 Bramley apples or crisp, tart apples such as Granny Smiths weight once peeled and sliced should be 680-700 grams.
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 75 g Dark brown sugar 6 level, packed tablespoons
- 20 g Butter
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon Golden syrup
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Here's what we do...
Pastry Case
- Using your pastry brush, grease your tart tin with your extra softened butter, making sure you get into the fluted sides.
- Place your flour, cinnamon, salt and icing sugar into your food processor and whizz a few times to mix in. Check that it has all mixed in evenly. If not using a food processor, mix in a large mixing bowl.
- Grate your butter, or cut it into very small cubes and place it over the flour mixture in your food processor, pulse about 20 times to turn to a sand-like consistency. If not using a food processor rub the butter in with your fingertips.
- Add your egg yolk, vanilla extract and milk and pulse about 10-15 times, stop when the mixture starts to form little clumps.
- Lightly flour your work surface and tip the pastry mixture out, bring it together into a ball but do not knead.
- Roll your pastry out into a circle measuring 30 centimetres wide. Keep flouring under the pastry at regular intervals and turning it over, to prevent it from sticking.
- Drape your pastry over your rolling pin, so that it hangs over it equally on either side, and then drape it over your tin.
- Gently push the pastry into the base and fluted sides of the tin. Squeeze down any excess pastry on the sides, so that the sides are a little thicker than the base.
- Roll your rolling pin over the top of the tin to trim the excess (or trim using a knife) and then gently squeeze the pastry up a little so that it sticks up about half a centimetre above the edge of the tin. This way if it shrinks a little when baking it will still be the height of the sides of the tin.
- Prick the base of the pastry case with a fork and then refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, preheat your oven to 160°C Fan/180°C/350°F/ Gas mark 4.
- Cut a piece of foil large enough to cover the base and sides of the pastry case. The foil needs to be tucked over the edges to cover the pastry completely.
- When you have fitted the foil cover it with a layer of baking beans (or you can use rice) and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil and baking beans and bake for another 10 minutes by which time the pastry should be fully baked and golden.
Apple Crumble Topping
- Mix together your flour and cinnamon in your food processor (or in a large bowl).
- Grate your cold butter, (or chop into small chunks), place over the top and pulse about 15 times to turn to a sand-like consistency (or rub in with fingers).
- Tip the mixture into a large bowl and stir in your brown sugar, oats and almonds. You may need to rub the brown sugar between your fingers to break it down if it is in lumps.
Apple Tart Filling
- Fill your large bowl with very cold water and add your lemon juice.
- Lay out some clean paper towel (kitchen roll) or 2 clean tea towels.
- Peel and core your apples (one at a time) and then cut up into slices of 1 centimetre in thickness, then immediately place them into your water so that they don't oxidise (turn brown). See Notes below.
- Place your butter into your wok or large frying pan and melt over a medium heat.
- While your butter melts, dry your apple slices on the paper towel or clean tea towels. Discard the water and dry the bowl as well.
- Return your apples to the bowl and mix in your brown sugar until the apples are fully coated.
- Tip the apples into your wok or large frying pan, turn the heat up to medium and toss them around with 2 wooden spoons, like a salad, for 5 minutes.
- Add your cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract and golden syrup and continue to sautee for another 2-3 minutes. The apples should have a little resistence left when tested with a skewer, we want some bite left in them so that they are not too soft.
- Using a fork or some tongues, place the apple slices into your pastry case, trying to ensure as few gaps remain as possible.
- Pour over 3 tablespoons of the liquid left in your wok/frying pan.
- Carefully tip over your crumble topping spreading it out to the sides.
- Pat the crumble down a little to secure it.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a few cracks appear on the top of the crumble and it has turned a more golden colour.
- Serve immediately with ice cream or custard.
Supporting Notes
- This is a soft pastry, therefore if it splits as you are fitting it into your tin, simply take some spare pastry and push it into the split and it will affix without needing water.
- Your apples will oxidise (brown) very quickly so I advise to:
- place them in water that is very cold;
- add ice to the water to ensure it stays cold;
- add the juice of 2 fresh lemons as the acid stop oxidisation;
- pop a plate on top of the apples to keep them below the waterline.