Mini Dulce de Leche Apple Rose Tart

Happy Pi Day, 2021!

How many digits of pi do you know? I’ll go first: 3.14159265358979323846264338327950. We had a little challenge in 5th grade to memorize as many digits as we could, and these are the ones that have stuck to this day.

I couldn’t give up this opportunity to make a pie to celebrate: thus, this small-batch mini tart recipe was born! During quarantine, it’s pretty difficult to share baked goods, so small-batch recipes are perfect for not having any leftovers. The crust is a flaky, egg-free pie crust, and the filling is only made with 3 ingredients.

A few notes about this recipe:

• I use 6-inch tart pans with removable bottoms

• The recipe is egg-free for easy scaling for larger or smaller batches

• The vinegar in the crust prevents gluten from developing, keeping it super flaky

• Try not to overwork or knead the dough—working it for too long develops gluten, and the heat from your hands will melt the butter

• The crust is blind-baked to prevent it getting a soggy bottom

• Trim the crust AFTER the blind bake to reduce the effect of shrinkage

• You can also toss the apple slices in a bit of cinnamon for extra flavor! I didn’t because my mom isn’t a fan of cinnamon

tart sprinkled with powdered sugar!

Mini Dulce de Leche Apple Tart
Active Time: 1 hour
Inactive Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 1.5 hours
Yield: 2 6-inch tarts

Ingredients
For crust:

• 60g (1/2 cup) AP flour
• 1 tbsp almond flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp cold butter, cubed
• 1/2 tsp white vinegar
• 2 tbsp ice water

For filling:

• 80 g (4 tbsp) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 medium apples (I used Fuji)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
  
  

Directions
For dulce de leche:

1. Place a glass dish filled with 1 inch of water in the oven while it preheats to 425°F.
2. Place sweetened condensed milk in an oven-safe ramekin. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in the water bath.
3. Cook for 90 minutes before removing and placing in the refrigerator to chill.

To make crust:

4. Combine AP flour, almond flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl.
5. Add in cold butter. Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the butter into the mixture until the pieces are roughly pea sized.
6. Add the white vinegar and ice water, and stir with a rubber spatula until the dough begins to clump together.
7. Transfer dough to a floured surface and fold with your hands until it comes together and doesn’t stick anywhere.
8. Divide dough in half, flatten each into 1-inch thick disks, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Crust blind bake:

9. Once chilled, gently roll the dough out until it is around 8 inches in diameter (1/4 inch thick).
10. Press the dough into the corners of each 6-inch tart pan, leaving about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of dough hanging over the edge.
11. Place tart pans with dough in freezer for 30 minutes while preheating the oven to 375°F.
12. Cut out 8-inch parchment squares and fill with pie weights to prevent the dough from expanding (you can just use dry beans).
13. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove parchment and weights. Bake for an additioal 10 minutes until the edges are golden.
14. Remove baked crusts from oven. Take a serrated knife and trim the edges, using the tart pan as a guide. Set aside to cool.

Filling assembly and final bake:

15. Preheat oven again to 375°F.
16. Core the apples and slice them as thin as possible. Reserve a few of the thinnest slices for the center of the rose swirl.
17. Toss apple slices in lemon juice, then microwave them in a microwave safe bowl for 60 seconds to soften. Set aside.
18. Fill each cooled tart shell with 2 tbsp dulce de leche and spread evenly.
19. Starting from the edges of the tart, place the half-moon slices so they slightly overlap each one before it. When you almost reach the center, take one reserved thin apple slice and roll it into a cylinder. Wrap more thin slices around it until it is large enough to fill the center of your tart rose. Repeat with the second tart.
20. Bake the tarts for 25-30 minutes or until the edges of the apple slices brown.
21. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 15 minutes, and carefully remove the tarts from their tins. Enjoy warm or at room temperature! Store in refrigerator after completely cooling for up to 2 days.

Per tart: 480 calories: 67 g carbs; 20.5 g fat; 6.5 g protein