The Catalan TableIngredients
Servings:
4
Ingredients
- streusel base
- 50 gbutter
- 40 gwhite sugar
- 40 gbrown sugar
- 40 gall-purpose flour
- 50 galmond flour
- Stuffing
- 4 Golden apples
- 20 gbutter
- 20 gbrown cane sugar
- 4 tablespoonsraspberry jam
- 1 lemon, the grated peel
- nutmeg or cinnamon powder
Nutritional Information
Per Serving (Approx.)
Calories
407 kcal
Protein
7 g
Fat
18 g
Carbohydrates
58 g
Disclaimer: These values are estimates based on ingredient types and may not be precise.
Step-by-step Guide
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes to ensure it is well-heated before placing the food inside.
- Cut the vegetables into equal pieces of approximately 2 cm to ensure even cooking and set them aside in a large bowl.
- In a large pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until hot but not smoking.
- Add the vegetables to the pan and sauté them for about 5-7 minutes until they are slightly golden and tender.
- Add salt and pepper to the vegetables to taste, stirring well to distribute the seasonings evenly.
- Place the sautéed vegetables on a baking tray and distribute them evenly to ensure even cooking.
- Bake the vegetables for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through to ensure they brown evenly.
- Remove the vegetables from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld well.
Streusel Base
- Preheat the oven to 140 ºC with heat from above and below.
- In a bowl, mix the room-temperature butter cut into small cubes, the white sugar, and the brown sugar until a homogeneous paste is obtained.
- Add the plain flour and almond flour and mix it in by pinches, without kneading, until everything is well integrated.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave it in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Place the mold on a flat surface and line it with baking paper, ensuring the paper extends approximately 2 cm over the edges of the mold.
- Grease the baking paper with butter to prevent sticking.
- After 15 minutes, remove the dough from the freezer and crumble it using a large grater (it should have small lumps but not be a fine powder).
- Fill the base of the mold with the crumbled streusel, spread it out and press it gently with a spoon or spatula until you achieve an even layer about 3 mm thick.
- Bake at 140 ºC for 30 minutes or until it is slightly golden.
- Let it cool completely before handling.
Stuffing
- Preheat the oven to 200 ºC; ensure that the oven is fully heated before starting to cook the ingredients.
- Peel the golden apples. Cut them in half and carefully remove the core and seeds.
- Use a mandoline to slice the apples into thin slices. Reserve the more intact slices to form the apple flower.
- Place the more irregular slices to boil in a saucepan with butter, a bit of water, a splash of Calvados, and a pinch of ground cinnamon. Let them cook for about 5-7 minutes until soft. These will be used to cover the cookie base before placing the apple flower on top.
- Arrange the more intact apple slices on a strip of parchment paper, overlapping them halfway over each slice.
- Melt the butter and, with the help of a brush, generously coat the apples. Add sugar to taste.
- Bake them at 200 ºC for about 10 minutes, until the apples are soft to the touch but still have a slight firmness.
- Allow them to cool for 10 minutes before handling.
- Then, roll the apple strips onto themselves to create a well-defined flower.
- Cover the streusel base with the boiled apples or, if you prefer, with a layer of raspberry jam.
- Carefully place an apple flower on each base, pressing gently to ensure it sticks well.
- Grate a little nutmeg (or sprinkle ground cinnamon) and add a bit of lemon zest to provide aroma and freshness before serving.
Recommendations & Tricks
- To ensure the streusel base remains crisp, freeze it for 10 minutes before baking. This will help the butter harden and provide a better texture to the base.
- When slicing the apples for the filling, try to make very thin slices. This will allow them to cook evenly and integrate well with the sugar.
- To keep the tartlets fresh for longer, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days; if you need more time, refrigerate them, but remember to serve them at room temperature for optimal flavor.