Caramel Apple Tart
1 rich pastry crust (recipe available by searching “pastry crust”)
6-8 med tart firm baking apples such as Granny Smith, Gala, or Macintosh, peeled, cored, and sliced thinlyinto 1/8”slices
Zest and Juice of one lemon
¼ C granulated sugar¼ C firmly packed brown sugar2 T all purpose flour
¼ t cinnamon
1/8 t each allspice and cloves
Pinch of salt
2 T unsalted butter, cut into ¼” dice
1 jar (8oz) of pre-made caramel sauce ( not labeled “caramel flavored ice cream topping”- but usually available in the ice cream topping section labeled as “caramel”- you can also melt caramel candies according to manufacturers direction)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Prepare your rich pastry crust ahead of time and allow time to cool. Once the pastry is cooled you can begin to assemble the tart. Start by zesting the lemon, set zest aside, then, juice the lemon into a glass pie plate or equivalent. Peel, core and slice apples thinly, tossing into the pie plate of lemon juice to prevent browning. Mix the spices, dry ingredients, and zest in a large mixing bowl, gently transfer the apple slices to the bowl and toss to lightly coat with the spices, dry, and zest mixture. Working quickly, arrange the apple slices over the pastry crust in a “fan” pattern starting with the outer most edge of the pastry. Once the first row has been arranged begin the subsequent rows leading to the center allowing a 1/8” overlap with each new ring. Once arranged, sprinkle the top with any remaining sugar, flour, spice mixture and dot with cubes of butter. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 45 minutes or until apples are cooked through. Remove from the oven and remove the foil. Allow to cool about 20 minutes to ½ hour. Long enough for the tart to lose most of its heat but remain warm to the touch. Drizzle caramel sauce over the top of the tart making sure to allow it to pool evenly across the top of the tart, don’t over-do it, just enough to form a thin layer, don’t allow to run over the edges of the pastry crust. Return to the oven uncovered and raise the heat to 375 degrees, bake another 20 minutes and remove. Allow to completely cool before removing from tart pan, cut, and serve with remaining caramel sauce and toasted pecans or walnuts if you desire (whipped cream and ice cream work too!).
