Apple

Bourbon Apple Tart with Brown Sugar Crumble

January 25, 2016
4
1 Ratings
Photo by Leslie Osborne
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

A delicate French apple tart is enhanced with the deep caramel flavors of bourbon, brown sugar, apple butter, and topped with a scrumptious crumble. —Leslie Osborne

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • For the tart dough
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup cold butter, 1 stick
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cold water
  • 3 tablespoons cold vodka
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • For the apple filling and crumble topping
  • 4 green apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into
  • 1/2 of 1 lemon, juiced
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, plus 6 Tbsp. for crumble
  • 9 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup bourbon
  • 2 tablespoons apple butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 6 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 6 tablespoons oats
Directions
  1. For the tart dough
  2. Cut cold butter into small chunks and place in the freezer for ten minutes.
  3. Mix the water and vodka together and place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
  4. Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt until combined.
  5. Add the cold butter and pulse until they are broken into tiny chunks.
  6. Pulse in the water and vodka mixture until the dough just starts to come together. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes or in the fridge for one hour. The dough can be made up to one month in advance and frozen, or up to three days in advance when stored in the fridge.
  1. For the apple filling and crumble topping
  2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  3. While the dough is resting, peel, core, and slice the apples. Drizzle a little lemon juice on top to keep from browning and cover with plastic wrap.
  4. Roll out the dough between sheets of plastic wrap to help keep the dough intact and invert on a buttered tart pan and gently press into the bottom and sides. Remove the excess dough around the edges and puncture wholes on the bottom of the shell with a fork to allow steam to escape.
  5. Overlap apple slices in a circular pattern in the shell.
  6. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and melt 3 Tbsp. butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar. Add the apple butter, bourbon, vanilla, and baking powder and simmer until thickened slightly, about two minutes.
  7. Pour the glaze over the apples and spread evenly with a pastry brush.
  8. For the crumble, melt the remaining butter 6 Tbsp. butter. Combine the butter, flour, 6 Tbsp. brown sugar, and oats together.
  9. Distribute the crumble over the tart. It will not cover it completely. That is ok, we want the steam to escape.
  10. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the crust and crumble are golden brown.
  11. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
  12. Serve with unsweetened whipped cream.
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2 Reviews

Enolagay0562 October 8, 2022
I agree with the first comment. Fortunately, I have been baking French-style tarts for years, so I knew 1 stick was about the right amount and it was. I did add 1-2 more tablespoons of cold water/vodka to bring it together properly. It was entirely too dry and powdery with only 6 tablespoons as recommended. Regarding pan size, I agree with entirely- You're only making so much dough, and if you pick the wrong pan size, there won't be enough dough to fill it properly. That said, I used a 9" tart pan just to be safe and that was about perfect - just a little leftover dough to patch the sides, etc. It's baking in the oven now, and if it tastes half as good as it smells, I'll give this one 5 stars!
 
lynda S. December 28, 2021
Cannot leave a review 0n the finished dessert yet because your recipe is not correct. You say use 1 cup butter or 1 stick - one stick is half a cup. Which is it? You do not have the correct size of pan to use. You need to proof your recipes better.