Caramel Apple Tart Recipe

Make the dough

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, granulated sugar and salt. Add cold cubed butter and use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to cut butter into the flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining.

Whisk together egg yolk, cold water and vanilla. Sprinkle the egg mixture over the flour-butter mixture and gently stir with a fork until dough just comes together. If too dry add up to 1 more teaspoon cold water; if too sticky add a tablespoon flour.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and press into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (up to 2 days).

Blind bake the shell

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). On a lightly floured surface roll chilled dough into a 12" circle about 1/8" thick. Fit into a 9" tart pan with removable bottom, trimming excess. Chill the tart shell in freezer 10 minutes to relax the dough.

Line shell with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 15 minutes, remove weights and parchment, then bake 6–8 minutes more until lightly golden. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (175°C). Let shell cool slightly.

Prepare custard

In a small saucepan combine milk, cream and vanilla bean seeds and pod (or vanilla extract). Warm over medium heat until just steaming; do not boil.

While milk warms, whisk together egg yolks, granulated sugar, cornstarch and salt in a bowl until smooth and pale.

Temper the yolks by slowly whisking 1/3 of the hot milk into the yolk mixture, then gradually whisk the tempered yolks back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon (about 3–5 minutes). Do not boil.

Remove from heat, strain custard through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl to remove any cooked bits and the vanilla pod. Cover surface with plastic wrap to prevent skin forming and let cool slightly (10–15 minutes).

When tart shell is warm but not hot, spread the custard evenly into the shell to an even layer. Set aside while you prepare the apples.

Cook apples

In a large skillet over medium heat melt butter. Add sliced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are softened but still hold shape, about 6–8 minutes.

If the pan liquid is very thin and you want a slightly syrupy glaze, whisk the optional 1/2 tsp cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water and stir into the pan, cook 1 minute until juices thicken. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Arrange the warm apple slices in overlapping concentric circles over the custard in the tart shell, pressing gently so they sit flush and cover the custard completely.

Make caramel

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat add granulated sugar in an even layer. Without stirring, let sugar melt at the edges; then gently swirl the pan or use a heatproof spatula to encourage even melting until the sugar becomes an amber caramel (watch closely to avoid burning).

Carefully add the cubed butter (mixture will bubble), whisk until melted. Remove pan from heat and slowly whisk in the heavy cream until smooth. Stir in sea salt.

Let caramel cool 5–10 minutes so it thickens slightly but remains pourable. If it becomes too thick, warm gently over low heat while stirring.

Drizzle 2–4 tablespoons of warm caramel over the arranged apples on the tart. Reserve remaining caramel for serving.

Place the assembled tart on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 12–15 minutes to meld flavors and warm apples through and set custard edges. Watch so apples do not burn; if they begin to darken too much, cover loosely with foil.

Remove tart from oven and let cool on a rack at least 15 minutes. Drizzle additional warm caramel over the tart if desired and dust lightly with powdered sugar.

Slice tart and serve each portion with a scoop of Tillamook vanilla bean ice cream. Spoon remaining warm caramel over ice cream as desired.