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
Streusel Base
- Preheat the oven to 140 ºC with heat from above and below.
- In a large bowl, mix the room temperature butter cut into small cubes with the white and brown sugar until you obtain a homogeneous paste.
- Add the plain flour and almond flour, and mix the dough with your hands by pinching it, without kneading, until everything is integrated.
- Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes to make the subsequent work easier.
- Place the mold on a flat surface and line it with baking paper so that the paper extends about 2 cm above the sides of the mold to facilitate unmolding.
- Grease the baking paper with butter to prevent the dough from sticking.
- Once 15 minutes have passed, remove the dough from the freezer and crumble it using a large grater to obtain small lumps (it should not be a fine powder).
- Fill the base of the mold with the crumbled streusel, spread it evenly, and gently press with a spoon or spatula to achieve a layer about 3 mm thick.
- Bake at 140 ºC for 20 minutes. Check frequently, as it might take up to 30 minutes to achieve a light golden color.
- Allow to cool completely before unmolding to ensure it retains its shape.
Stuffing
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC (equivalent to gas mark 6 in France) to prepare it for the apples.
- Peel the Golden apples with a sturdy peeler and remove all the skin.
- Cut them in half with a sharp knife, and remove the core and seeds with an apple corer or a small knife.
- Slice the apples into thin rounds using a mandoline. Reserve the most intact slices to form the flowers.
- Boil the more irregular slices in a saucepan with butter, a little water, a splash of Calvados, and a pinch of ground cinnamon until tender (about 5-7 minutes). This mixture will be used to cover the base of the pastry before placing the apple flower on top.
- Arrange the apple slices whole side up on a silicone mat or on a strip of parchment paper, overlapping them by about half their diameter.
- Melt the butter in the microwave or in a bain-marie, and generously brush the apples with a kitchen brush. Sprinkle them with sugar on top.
- Bake the apple slices at 200ºC for 10 minutes, until they are soft to the touch.
- Let the slices cool for 10 minutes to harden slightly.
- With the cooled slices, roll each strip onto itself to create the shape of a flower.
- Cover the base of the streusel with boiled apple or, if you prefer, with raspberry jam, to add flavor and moisture.
- Carefully place an apple flower on each streusel base.
- Grate a bit of nutmeg (or add ground cinnamon) and lemon zest over the apple flowers to add aroma.
- Alternatively, cover the base of the streusel with jam if a sweeter and fruitier taste is preferred.
Recommendations & Tricks
- For a crunchier streusel base, chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before baking.
- When preparing apple flowers, make sure to slice the apple sheets very thin to facilitate arrangement and ensure they cook evenly.
- If you want to add an aromatic touch to the tarts, add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the brown sugar mixture before placing it over the apples.