I love the simplicity of this apple tartlet – it looks bakery-special, but it’s easy to put together. The only real project with this recipe is making the caramel, which can be made days, and up to 2 weeks, ahead. It just needs to be warmed to a pourable consistency just before serving. {Shhh... you can always use a prepared caramel sauce if you want to make life even easier.}
~Apple
Tartlets~
(Caramel
Sauce)
3/4 cup
granulated sugar
3/4 cup
heavy cream
1/2 tsp
fine sea salt
1 Tbsp
butter
(Tart)
1
sheet all-butter frozen puff pastry dough (thawed)
2
apples, peeled
1 Tbsp
melted butter
4 tsp
sugar
Flaked
sea salt
To
make the caramel sauce, put the sugar in a 2-3 quart heavy saucepan and place
over medium heat. Cook the sugar until
it melts into syrup, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon (NOT a metal
spoon, which will get very hot and burn your hand).
Once
the sugar is completely melted, let it cook undisturbed until it’s
amber-colored. Lower the heat and very
slowly dribble the cream into the pan.
The mixture will bubble up intensely so be careful. When the bubbling subsides, bring the caramel
to a simmer, whisking until any hardened lumps melt back into the sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt and
butter until smooth. If you end up with
a few stubborn pieces of hardened sugar, you can strain the sauce into a
heatproof glass measuring cup.
Pre-heat
your oven to 400 degrees. Roll
the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to flatten slightly. Cut out 4 5-inch diameter circles with a
pastry cutter or use the upside-down rim of a small bowl.
Transfer
the circles to an ungreased baking sheet.
Cu the apples in half and remove the core. Slice each half crosswise into thin slices, keeping
them together as you slice. Unfurl the
slices onto each pastry circle, fanning them in a circular pattern to cover the
dough. Brush with the melted butter and
sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon sugar.
Bake
15-20 minutes, until the apples are tender and the edges of the tarts are
putted and golden.
Reheat
the caramel to pouring consistency if it has cooled, and spoon some sauce over
each tart. Sprinkle with a little flaked
salt and serve warm.
You’ll
have more caramel sauce than you need for the tarts, but it will keep in the
refrigerator for up to 2 weeks to use in any way you like.
~
Enjoy!
