Celebrating 6 Years of Apple & Spice with Apple, Caramel & Almond Tart with Peanut Praline

Wow I can’t believe this is my blogs 6^th anniversary. I never thought I would keep it up when I started all those years ago. There has been some distinctive changes in my life throughout the span of this blog, but my love of food and baking has remained steadfast.

A few weeks ago, I almost considered finishing the blog. I was finding I had less time to bake and blog and when I did get round to baking at the weekend, I felt I should be making the recipes for either the Daring Bakers group or The Cake Slice group that I am a member of. It felt there was always a recipe I should be baking and my own ‘to bake’ list kept growing larger and larger without me ever getting the chance to bake any of them. I have come to the decision to give up the baking groups and instead focus on the recipes I want to bake and eat. After all, surely that’s what my blog should be about, the kind of food I like to bake and eat.

I’d like to say a big Thank You to Paloma of The Coffee Shop who has taken over the management of The Cake Slice group, that I set up and have run for the past 5 years. Thanks Paloma, you are doing a fabulous job.

Anyway, back to Apple & Spice and all things deliciously apple-y! Every blog anniversary I have always made an apple inspired recipe to celebrate.
1st year – Spiced Apple Cake

2nd year – Individual Apple & Oat Crumbles

3rd year – Overnight Spiced Apple Stack

4th year – Fruity Tea Loaf

5^th year - Roasted Apple & Custard Pots

This year I made Apple, Caramel and Almond Tart with Peanut Praline. A sweet pastry tart with a layer of dulce de leche caramel, topped with almond frangipane and decorated with slices of fresh tart apple and finished with peanut praline. Yum!

I really wanted to make an apple tart this year and love the flavour of apple and almond together and so decided to make an almond frangipane to go underneath my apple slices. This got me thinking that it would be even better if there was a hidden layer of something underneath the frangipane, which let me to dulce de leche caramel. Apple, caramel and almond – what’s not to love?!

You may notice that the apple slices have been arranged horizontally, rather than the usual vertical fan formation. This allows you to build up layers to create an effect that almost resembles a rose or flower.

Once baked the tart looked and smelt lovely, but I still felt it needed something extra and my eyes settled on a bar of peanut brittle. A quick attack with a rolling pin and I had some peanut praline crumbs to sprinkle over the top of the finished tart.

The tart was delicious, even if I do say so myself. All the flavours worked together so well and the peanut praline crumbs really made it. Adding a little nuttiness and crunch against the sweet and fruity tart.  I love how you can see all the layers in each slice.

I fed it to a couple of work colleagues, one of whom told me in advance not to be offended if she didn’t like it as she wasn’t a dessert person. She ended up asking me for the recipe, and I don’t think (I hope) that she was just being polite. It’s got a few components but is quite easy to put together and tastes like you have been slaving away for hours. Do give it a go, it’s sure to impress.

Apple, Caramel & Almond Tart with Peanut Praline

Gluten Free Sweet Pastry

200g gluten free plain flour blend

90g butter

1 egg

40g icing sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1-2 tbsp water

Apples

3 Granny Smith apples

Juice of ½ lemon

Almond Frangipane

55g ground almonds

55g caster sugar

55g butter

10g plain flour

1 large egg

½ tsp almond extract

Caramel Filling

1 small tin dulce de leche

To Finish

1 tbsp caster sugar

10g butter

Apricot jam to glaze

30g peanut brittle/praline

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

Have a 7-8inch fluted tart tin to hand. Preheat your  oven to 200C.

Mix the flours and xanthan gum together in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, add your butter, (it should be soft, if not blast it in the microwave for a few seconds) along with half the flour mixture, the egg, sugar and 1 tablespoon of the water. Beat with a spoon or spatula to form a paste. (Yes I know this goes against all traditional pastry making!) Add the rest of the flour and bring the mixture together to form a dough, switching to your hands at the end. Add a little more water if it seems dry. Knead the dough gently for 1 minute to ensure everything is well combined.
Roll out the pastry between two large sheets of clingfilm to the size and shape of your tart tin, plus an extra 1-2 inches for the sides.
Peel off the top sheet of clingfilm, and use the base sheet to help you flip the pastry into the tin and press it down gently. Trim off the excess and patch up any cracks with the off-cuts of pastry.

Prick the pastry lightly with a fork and place on a baking tray.

Blind bake the pastry for 15 minutes until just starting to brown.

Remove from the oven and set aside. Reduce your oven to 180C.

For the Apples

Fill a large bowl with water and add the juice of half a lemon

Peel and core the apples. Slice into 3mm thick slices and add to the lemon water while you cut the rest. (This stops them browning)

For the Frangipane

Soften the butter and then cream it together with the caster sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and almond extract and beat again. Add the flour and ground almonds and beat again to incorporate.

Assembly

Spread some of the dulce de leche caramel into the base of your tart. Add blobs of the almond mixture on top and smooth over to create an even layer.

Drain the water from the apples and pat them dry.

Arrange the apple slices in a fan formation on top. Start at the edge and work you way into the middle, overlapping each slice. Arrange them curve side out towards the edge, rather than the usual fan formation. This ends up creating more of a rose/flower effect to the apple slices.

Melt the 10g butter and brush over the apple slices. Sprinkle over the tablespoon of sugar.

Bake in the oven at 180C for 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Glaze with a little warmed apricot jam. Crush the peanut brittle into crumbs and scatter over the top of the tart before serving.

Makes 1 x 7-8inch tart