I have to say, this is quite a luxurious tart. I am sorry it takes a bit of time to make but not that sorry either because it is a total worth of time. The tangy apple pecan filling with the creamy custard is just heaven in your mouth. Love how these two ingredients comes together into a decadent and delicious tart. And you can of course also make this dessert without a tart shell and it will still taste delicious as the essence of this dessert lies in the apple filling and custard. Scroll down for the recipe.
Apple Pecan Custard Tart
Prep time: 30mins (+1hr freeze) Cook time: 25mins Bake time: 30 - 35mins Serves: 6 - 8
Ingredients
Tart shell:
125g Flour
25g Almond flour
50g Fine Sugar
80g Cold Butter or Margarine
25ml Water
1 Pinch Salt
Apple Pecan Filling:
3 Large Apples (peeled and finely chopped)
40g butter
60g Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon Lemon juice
30g Ground pecans or Pecan flour
20g Chopped Toasted Pecans
Custard Topping:
300ml Milk
80g Sugar
200g Mascarpone
20g Corn Flour
4 egg yolks
1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract
30g Ground pecans or Pecan flour
Method:
Tart shell:
I suggest you make the tart dough a day before and let it set in the fridge. I make my tart dough in the food processor, but if you don’t have one you can kneed it with hands, it just takes a bit longer.
Add all the dry ingredients and cold butter/margarine in a food processor. Blend until the butter is completely broken down and incorporated in the flour. It should have a sandy feel. Then add the water and blend until everything clumps into a dough.
Transfer the dough to a parchment paper with some flour dusted on it and start rolling to achieve an even 2 to 3mm thickness. Gently transfer the rolled out dough to the tart pan and press gently on the sides to make sure they sit evenly on the bottom.
Trim the edges with a paring knife and prick the bottom of the pan using a fork (This step will let the air trapped escape and prevent the bottom from puffing up. You can also cover the tarts with pie weights to achieve a more even surface).
Let the tart rest in freezer for at-least 1hr (or overnight).
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C.
Bake the tart for 20-25mins, until you see they evenly browned. Let them cool at room temperature before use.
Do not switch of the oven off and proceed to the next step.
Apple Filling:
In a non stick pan, melt the butter and cook chopped apples and sugar until sugar melts and slightly caramelizes the apple. It takes around 8-10mins.
Next, add Vanilla extract, lemon juice, ground pecan flour and chopped pecans to the caramelized apples, cook for another 3-4mins. Take off the heat.
Spread the slightly cooled caramelized apple filling evenly at the bottom of the tart shell and proceed to the next step.
Custard Filling:
Pour milk and vanilla extract into a heavy bottom saucepan and heat on medium/low heat.
While the milk is heating, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and corn starch in a mixing bowl. Whisk until you see the color change to a pale yellow color.
Once the milk is hot and small bubbles start to appear on the sides, add 1/3 of the hot milk into the mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly, until the mixture is homogenous.
Now pour this egg + milk mixture back into the sauce pan with remaining milk and start whisking non-stop until mixture starts to thickening. Take it off the heat.
Add the mascarpone and remaining pecan flour to the custard and whisk it together.
Pour this custard on top of the apple filling till the rim and carefully place it back into to oven for 7-8mins. Take it out and let it cool down to room temperature, before cooling down in the fridge.
Note:
*This dessert is best prepared a day before serving.
*If you want to save time, you can skip the tart shell and just spread the apple pecan filling in a serving dish, top up with custard and bake.
*Don't throw away the egg whites, you can freeze them in 2s or 4s in a box or ziplock bags for other desserts like Pavlovas.
*Amount of Sugar is something very personal. Please adjust the amount of sugar according to your taste.
I really hope you will try making this dessert because it is worth all the efforts. Thank you for reading. And please leave your comments or questions below, would be happy to assist you.
Enjoy! From Pistachio with love!
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