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French Caramel Apple Tart

Apple tart decorated with gold pearls and flours in a tart pan with a yellow cup on the background.
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5 from 6 reviews

French caramel apple tart is an easy French dessert made with a buttery shortbread crust, smooth vanilla cream, and caramelized Pink Lady apples under a glossy caramel topping. It serves 10 and works for a dinner party or a simple night in.

Ingredients

Scale

For shortbread cookie crust:

  • 10.5 oz (300 g) shortbread fingers
  • 3.5 oz (100 g) butter, melted

For the vanilla cream:

  • 1 1/3 cup + 5 1/2 teaspoons (350 g) milk
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons (50 g) granulated sugar
  • 7 teaspoons (22 g) corn starch
  • 2/3 sheet of gelatin
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 3.7 oz (105 g) butter

For the caramelized apples:

  • 31.7 oz (900 g) Pink Lady® apples
  • 2/3 cup + 3 1/2 tablespoons (200 g) granulated sugar 
  • 1 lime, zest 

For the caramel topping:

  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) water
  • 1 tablespoon (20 g) of caramel syrup made
  • 3.5 oz (100 g) ready neutral glaze (see note #3)

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Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). To make the shortbread cookie crust, place the shortbread fingers in the bowl of a food processor and crush until they form breadcrumbs. Add the melted butter and mix with a rubber spatula or by hand. Transfer the mixture into a rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom. Using your hands, pat out cookie crumbs so they cover the bottom and sides of the pan to meet the edge. Then bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cookie crust from the oven and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes.
  2. Keep the oven temperature at 355°F (180°C). To make caramelized apples, place granulated sugar in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Swirl the pan over the stove to make caramel. Pour the caramel onto parchment paper and let it cool. Break the caramel into pieces and reduce it to powder, using a chopper or food processor. Peel the apples, cut them into large cubes, and place them in a dish. Add the lime zest and the caramel powder, and mix. Cover the dish and bake for 30 minutes. Stir halfway through cooking.  Transfer caramelized apples to a bowl and let them cool down before assembling the tart.
  3. To make vanilla cream, soak gelatin in cold water for 5 to 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch with a hand whisk. Heat milk, add a whole vanilla bean, and infuse for 20 minutes in a covered container. Remove the bean and bring milk to a boil. Then pour hot milk into the egg yolks/sugar/starch mixture, stirring constantly. Bring the mixture back to the pan and heat over medium heat for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove the cream from heat, add the drained gelatin, and mix. Transfer the cream to a bowl and let it cool down to 104°F (40°C) or warm to the touch. Gradually add the butter, cut into small cubes, and mix with the spatula. Cover the cream with plastic film in contact and refrigerate.
  4. To assemble the apple tart, take the tart crust from the freezer and keep it in a tart pan. Garnish the bottom of the tart with vanilla cream up to two-thirds. Arrange caramelized apples and refrigerate.
  5. To make the caramel topping, place granulated sugar in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar turns golden brown. Pour in the hot water (keep the pan off the heat and be careful not to splash!) and heat the caramel syrup again for a few seconds. In a separate saucepan, make a clear glaze as directed (see note #3). Let the glaze cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then whisk it into the caramel syrup. Let it rest until it starts to thicken. Coat apples with the caramel topping using a silicone brush. Decorate the tart with edible flowers, gold sugar pearls, or edible gold leaf. Remove the tart from the pan before serving.

Notes

  1. Replace Pink Lady® apples with Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, or Honeycrisp apples.
  2. Coat the caramelized apples with the neutral cake glaze instead of the caramel topping to simplify cooking.
  3. To make the neutral glaze, in a saucepan, mix the contents (10 g) of Dr. Oetker cake glaze with two tablespoons sugar. Stir in 1 cup cold water. Bring to a boil; let boil over medium heat for 1 minute. Cool for 1 minute, then brush it over the apples.

Nutrition

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