It’s apple harvest season which means plenty of reasons to bake those delicious apple recipes. Apples are such a versatile fruit and can be used in cakes, pies, tarts and so much more!
Having been to the apple orchards recently, I had plenty of apples to use in some of my favourite autumnal recipes. Have you ever picked your own apples? There’s something idyllic about visiting an apple orchard in autumn and picking your own straight from the tree. Hand-picked apples just seem to taste so much better than days old, or even weeks old, shop bought ones!
This tart is melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Encased in a sweet shortcrust pastry with a gooey almond-y frangipane centre topped off with sweet juicy red apples. Slicing the apple halves and quarters thinly and placing them carefully around the tart makes it a real eye-catcher too!
What equipment do I need for this tart?
- 29cm x 21cm deep tart dish
- Stand mixer or electric hand-held mixer (optional)
What ingredients do I need?
Butter – Unsalted butter is preferable but you can use salted too, just leave out the extra 1/4 teaspoon salt
Caster sugar – White refined caster sugar or fine caster sugar adds sweetness and structure to the tart
Eggs – medium free range eggs at room temperature add structure to the tart.
Gluten free flour – A gluten free flour blend such as Doves Farm Plain Flour with added Xanthan gum is perfect for this recipe, otherwise a standard flour blend will work fine
Vanilla Essence – Vanilla essence, extract or vanilla paste can be used as long as it is gluten-free
Baking Powder – Any baking powder can be used, just check the label that it is gluten-free
Ground Almonds – I prefer the grainier ground almonds but almond flour works fine too
Apples – Red apples with the skin left on look great sunken into this tart. Pink ladies or gala work a treat but any sweet baking apples with or without the skin, depending on preferences, will taste amazing
Xanthan gum – Xanthan gum is essential for most gluten free recipes and there are no exceptions here. Doves Farm is my preferred choice but any brand is fine. Xanthan Gum is a gluten replacement which helps to keep the tart from becoming dry and crumbly after baking
Tips & Tricks
Chilling the pastry dough before rolling out will make it easier to shape. If the dough becomes too warm and sticky, pop it back into the fridge and start again after chilling for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough out onto a large piece of clingfilm, big enough to cover the size of the dough you are rolling out. Use the clingfilm to transfer the dough to the dish. This will prevent the dough from breaking in the transfer. Rolling the dough out between two sheets of baking paper is also a great way to avoid a sticky mess if the dough is too sticky,
If the tart begins to brown too quickly, cover it gently with tinfoil, shiny side up, in order to stop it from over browning. I usually do this after around 30 minutes.
Sunken Apple Frangipane Tart
Zutaten
For the sweet shortcrust pastry
- 150 g plain gluten-free flour blend
- 75 g icing sugar or fine caster sugar
- 75 g unsalted butter softened to room temp
- 1 medium egg room temperature
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp Xanthan Gum
For the frangipane filling
- 230 g caster sugar
- 200 g ground almonds
- 130 g unsalted butter softened
- 100 g gluten-free plain flour blend
- 2 medium eggs room temperature
- 1 medium egg yolk room temperature
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
For the topping
- 5 medium red apples cored, halves and quarters thinly sliced with skin still on
- 25 g flaked almonds
Anleitungen
For the sweet shortcrust pastry
- Preheat the oven to 170° Fan.
- Combine the flour, salt and Xanthan Gum in a bowl and whisk until combined.150 g plain gluten-free flour blend, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp Xanthan Gum
- Cube the butter and add to the dry ingredients. Using fingertips, rub the butter into the mixture until a crumbly texture forms.75 g unsalted butter
- Add the icing sugar and mix until combined with a fork.75 g icing sugar or fine caster sugar
- Form a well in the mixture and add the egg and vanilla. Use the fork to bring the dough together, mixing well until a sticky dough forms. Do not be tempted to add more flour!1 medium egg, ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- Wrap the dough in clingfilm and place in the fridge for roughly half an hour to and hour to firm up. This will help with rolling it out later.
- Remove the dough from the fridge once chilled and roll out on to a lightly floured surface or a piece of clingfilm to around 3-4mm thick.
- Using the rolling pin or the clingfilm, gently transfer the dough to the tart dish, pressing down to cover the base and sides. Remove any excess dough with the rolling pin by rolling the pin along the edges of the tart dish.
- Place the tart dish in the fridge to chill whilst preparing the filling.
For the frangipane filling
- Cream together the butter and sugar until completely combined.230 g caster sugar, 130 g unsalted butter
- Whisk in the eggs, vanilla and egg yolk one at a time until completely incorporated.2 medium eggs, 1 medium egg yolk, ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- Fold in the ground almonds and flour, making sure no pockets of flour remain.200 g ground almonds, 100 g gluten-free plain flour blend
- Pour the frangipane filling into the tart dish, levelling off with a spatula.
- Keeping the thinly sliced apple halves and quarters together, arrange them around the tart, covering as much space as possible.5 medium red apples
- Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top and place in the oven to bake on the middle shelf for around 50 minutes or until the tart no longer wobbles when given a little shake. If the tart begins to brown too much, cover it with tinfoil with the shiny side up. This will prevent the tart from burning if it needs a longer baking time.25 g flaked almonds
- Once the tart is baked, allow to cool before serving with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.
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