Apple Cheddar Tarts with Cinnamon Ice Cream

Apple Cheddar Tarts with Cinnamon Ice Cream

makes 8 tarts

You will need a biscuit cutter (I used a 4-inch)

Ingredients:

for the apple tarts:

2 sheets frozen puff pastry

2 Granny Smith apples

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

juice of 1/2 lemon

3 tablespoons melted butter

4 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, sliced

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (toasted, if you like)

for the cinnamon ice cream:

2 cups half and half, divided

3 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup cream

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

to make apple tarts:

Defrost the frozen puff pastry in your refrigerator for a few hours or at room temperature just until unfrozen, but still cold.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400°F.

Peel and core the apples.  Slice very thinly into rounds - I did mine on a mandoline slicer. Blend the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt, lemon juice and butter in a bowl.  Toss the apple slices thoroughly in the mixture.

Cut out rounds of the puff pastry with the biscuit cutter.  Lay the rounds on the parchment paper and dock them with a fork.  Lay a couple of slices of cheddar cheese on the pastry. Lay the apple slices on top of the cheese.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden.  Serve with cinnamon ice cream and chopped hazelnuts.

to make the ice cream:

Make a slurry in a little jar of 1/4 cup of the half-and-half and the cornstarch and shake well.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the rest of the half-and-half and the cream, sugar, corn syrup, salt and vanilla bean seeds and the pod. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 4 minutes; stir in slurry and cinnamon. Return to a boil and cook, whisking the mixture, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, remove vanilla bean and pour into a heatproof bowl (I like to use a 4 cup Pyrex glass measuring cup). Refrigerate until very cold, stirring every once in a while.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process for 30 minutes.  Place ice cream in a plastic container, press plastic wrap on top of the ice cream and freeze.

The Italian Dish Food Blog