Apple Rose Tarts

Apple Rose Tarts

Crust.

• • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter

  • 3 tablespoons whole milk

Filling.

• • 3/4 cup prepared custard, chilled (I used this champagne custard)

  • 4 apples

  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar

  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • coarse turbinado sugar, for garnish

You'll need 8 individual tart pans (mine are fluted, with a base diameter of 2 inches and a top diameter of 3 1/2 inches), or you can use a standard-sized muffin pan.

Note that because of the custard in the bottom of the tarts, the crust will soften by the second day, and start to get soggy, so these are best eaten the same day they're made while the crust is nice and crisp.

Crust.

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Cut the butter in with a pastry cutter until the butter is the size of peas. Add the milk and toss to combine, then turn out onto the counter and use your hands to pull the dough together into a ball. Use a little more flour and roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 8 circles with a 4-inch cutter, gathering up the scraps to roll those out as well.

Grease the tart pans and gently fit the circles of dough into the pans. Freeze for 30 minutes.

Filling.

Preheat the oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set the tart pans on the baking sheet.

If you don't want to make custard, you could also use a spoonful of store bought jam instead - apricot jam, or even apple butter would be nice. Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons of custard or jam into each tart shell.

Cut the apples into fourths and remove the cores. Use a mandolin to slice the apples into very thin translucent slices. Lay the slices on a baking sheet, drizzle with the lemon juice and sprinkle with the granulated sugar and the cinnamon.

Lay 12 or so apple slices down in a row so that they overlap, and roll up from one end to the other into a rose and place in the custard. Add a few more apple slices around the edges if needed to fill out the rose.

Bake the tarts for 35 minutes. Let cool for several hours before trying to remove the tarts from the pans. Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar, and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Yields 8 individual tarts

Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen