Apple Tartlets with Granny Smith Apples

Cut the apples. Make the dough. Lattice goes on top. That’s apple tartlets.

Why You’ll Love This Apple Tart Recipe

Takes 95 minutes total — 40 minutes of work, the rest is oven time. Granny Smith apples stay tart enough that the sugar doesn’t turn it into dessert mush. Homemade crust tastes different. Crispy. Actually flakes. You’ll have fall flavors without needing a special occasion — makes two tarts, so one’s for now and one’s frozen. Lattice looks harder than it is.

What You Need for Apple Tartlets

Flour. Three hundred grams. All-purpose works fine. Butter. Cold. Cubed. A hundred grams — that matters because cold butter makes the crust flake. Warm butter makes it tough. Salt. Just a pinch. Less than you think. Ice water. A hundred twenty milliliters. Actually cold. Not room temperature. The cold part is the whole thing. Granny Smith apples. Four medium ones. Not Red Delicious, not Honeycrisp. Granny Smith. They hold their shape and they’re sharp — sugar doesn’t drown them out. Sugar. A hundred grams. Melted butter. Forty-five grams. Lemon juice. Twenty-five milliliters. Stops the apples from browning, keeps them tasting like something besides sweet. Cinnamon and nutmeg. A gram each. Ground. One egg for the glaze. Plus 15 milliliters of water.

How to Make Apple Tartlets

Blend the flour and salt first. Two seconds. That’s it. Drop in the cold butter pieces. Mix it with your fingers or a pastry cutter until it looks like coarse sand — some pieces the size of peas, some smaller. Don’t overthink it. Add the ice water slowly. Like a tablespoon at a time. Mix with a fork until it starts holding together. It shouldn’t be sticky. Shouldn’t be dry either. Divide it in half. Shape each half into a disk. Wrap them. Chill for thirty minutes minimum.

While that’s happening, peel the apples. Slice them thin — quarter inch maybe. Thinner than you’d eat them raw. Mix the sugar with the melted butter, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg in a bowl. Add the apples. Toss until they’re coated. They’ll start releasing liquid — that’s fine. Let them sit there while you work on the crust.

Heat the oven to 190°C. Take one disk of dough out. Roll it flat between two pieces of parchment paper so it doesn’t stick everywhere. Roll it big enough to line a 25-centimeter tart pan with a little overhang. Press it into the pan. It’ll crack sometimes. Just push the cracks back together. Pour the apple filling in, including all the liquid that collected. Mound it slightly in the middle — it’ll flatten as it bakes. Roll out the second disk. Cut it into strips about as wide as your pinky. Weave them into a lattice over the apples. Sounds fussy. Isn’t. Just alternate over and under. Trim the edges where the strips meet the pan. Press the edges of the crust and lattice together so they seal. Beat the egg with water. Brush it all over the lattice. This is what makes it golden.

How to Get Apple Tartlets Crispy and Golden

Bake for 55 minutes. Maybe a couple minutes more. Watch it around minute 50 — when the crust starts turning golden, it’ll keep getting darker. Pull it out when the lattice is the color of dark honey and the crust at the edges looks actually crispy, not just tan. The apples underneath will be soft — you can’t see them, but you’ll know because the tartlet won’t move when you gently shake the pan. The liquid bubbles slightly at the edges. That’s done. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before you try to move it. The filling sets as it cools. Pull it out of the pan too early and it falls apart.

Apple Tart Tips and Common Mistakes

The crust cracks. So what. Press it back together. Butter has to be cold or the crust won’t flake. Room temperature butter makes it dense. I’ve done both. Granny Smith apples are the move. They’re tart. They don’t turn to applesauce. Don’t skip the lemon juice. It’s not for taste — well, it is — but it keeps the apples from browning and oxidizing during baking. If the lattice strips tear, just patch them. Nobody’s inspecting it that closely. The filling looks liquid. It’s not. The apples release juice as they cook and it all tightens up as it cools. First tart’s always the practice run. Second one comes out better because you know what you’re doing.

Apple Tartlets with Granny Smith Apples

By Emma Kitchen

Prep:

40 min

Cook:

55 min

Total:

95 min

Servings:

10 servings

Ingredients

• For the tart crust
• 300g all-purpose flour
• 100g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• pinch of salt
• 120ml ice-cold water
• For the glaze
• 1 egg, beaten
• 15ml water
• For the filling
• 100g sugar
• 45g melted butter
• 25ml lemon juice
• 1g ground cinnamon
• 1g ground nutmeg
• 4 medium apples, peeled and sliced (Granny Smith recommended)

Method

1. For the crust
2. 1 Blend flour and salt until combined. Add butter, mix until crumbly. Slowly add water until dough forms. Divide into two balls, wrap in plastic, chill for 30 minutes.
3. For the filling
4. 2 In a bowl, combine sugar, melted butter, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg. Add apple slices. Toss to coat. Let sit while preparing crust.
5. For assembly
6. 3 Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). Roll out one disk of chilled dough into a 25cm tart pan. Pour apple mixture into crust, creating a slight dome. Roll out second disk and cut into strips. Weave strips into a lattice over the apples. Trim edges, seal together. Brush lattice with egg wash mixed with water. Bake for about 55 minutes or until golden.

Nutritional information

Calories

300

Protein

3g

Carbs

42g

Fat

12g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Apple Tartlets

Can I use store-bought puff pastry instead of making a crust? Sure. Roll it out, press it in the pan, fill it, lattice it, same deal. Won’t taste as buttery. Easier though. Trade-off.

How do I know when the apples are done? Listen for bubbling at the edges. The crust turns golden — that golden honey color. The filling under the apples isn’t sloshing around anymore if you shake the pan gently. That’s done.

Can I make these ahead? Bake them, cool them completely, wrap them individually, freeze them. They last about a month. Reheat at 160°C for like 10 minutes before serving. Crust crisps back up.

What if my crust is too sticky? Add a bit more flour. What if it’s too dry? Add a tiny bit of water. Neither is a disaster.

Can I use a different type of apple? Granny Smith works because they hold their shape and stay tart. Honeycrisp will get mushy. Red Delicious is mealy. Pink Lady works if you can’t find Granny Smith.

Do I have to make a lattice? No. Lay the second disk on top whole, slit it a few times so steam escapes, brush with egg wash, bake. Looks less fancy. Less work.

How much does this actually make? Two tarts. One tart is 8 or 10 slices depending on how hungry you are.