Saturday, October 4, 2025

Apple and Almond Cream Tartelettes

Based on https://www.oogio.net/apple_pie/ , crust recipe is based on the Chocolate "Porcupine" recipe by Micky Shemo: https://shemo.co.il/

Streusel:
  • 65 grams sugar
  • 80 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 stick of unsalted butter, cold, cubed
  • pinch of salt

 Crust:

  • 50 grams sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, cold, cubed
  • 1 egg
  • 210 grams (1 1/2 cups) AP flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • [optional, if mixture is too dry] 1-2 tsp milk
  • [optional, if mixture is too soft/wet] 1-2 tsp flour
Almond Cream:
  • 100 grams almond flour
  • 100 grams sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, cold, cubed
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp AP flour
  • 1 tbsp milk
Apples:
  • 2 large (or 3 medium, or 4-5 tiny) apples - I use Gala. 
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • pinch of cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Greek yogurt cream frosting [optional]:
  • 150 grams greek yogurt
  • 150 ml heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla pudding powder
How to make:
  1. Streusel: Process all ingredients in food processor until crumbs form; transfer to an air-tight container, store in freezer until use. 
  2. Crust dough (no need to clean the food processor bowl/blade! yay!): 
    1. Using a fork, mix together the flower and baking powder until combined.
    2. Process butter and sugar in a food processor until combined.
    3. Add egg and 1/4 of the flour mixture, continue processing for a few seconds.
    4. Add the rest of the flour mixture, continue processing until a single ball of dough is formed; do not over-process; once a dough-ball is formed - stop processing.
    5. Divide the dough ball to 2 equal parts, flatten each part to a disc (about 1/2 inch thick), wrap each disc in plastic-wrap, and store them in the refrigerator until use, at least 30 min (and up to 24 hours).
  3. Almond cream (guess what! still no need to clean the food processor bowl/blade! double yay!): 
    1. Process almond flour, sugar and butter in a food processor until crumbs form.
    2. Add egg, AP flour and milk, and continue to process until a thick cream is formed. 
    3. Transfer cream to a pastry bag (no tip needed).
    4. Seal top of pastry bag (using e.g. a plastic clip) and store in the refrigerator until ready to use (can be stored safely for a couple of days this way, but make sure to refrigerate immediately, as this mixture contains a raw egg)
  4. Apples:
    1. Peel, core and cube the apples.
    2. Cook all ingredients in a small pot for a few minutes until apples are soften (no need for them to be super soft, they will continue to cook and soften in the oven).
    3. Remove from heat and drain away the fluids. Let cool to room temperature. 
  5. Tartelette Crusts [can be prepared while apples are cooling]:
    1. Remove dough discs from refrigerator, let them sit in room temperature for a few minutes.
    2. Knead one of the discs for a few seconds until it's a bit softer and easier to work with.
    3. On a generously-flour-dusted surface, roll the disc to a sheet about 3-4 mm thick.
    4. Using a ~4 inch cookie/biscuit cutter (or small bowl), cut discs out of the dough, and place them in mini-tartelette / standard muffin pan cavities. Using a small glass or your fingers, gently press the center of each disc to the bottom of each cavity; using your fingers, gently press the circumference of the discs to the sides of each cavity. 
    5. [Repeat steps 5.2 - 5.4 above with the other dough disc]
    6. Using a fork, puncture the bottom of each disc a couple of times (to prevent air-pockets). 
    7. Wrap the entire pan in plastic wrap (or put it in an air-tight freezer-safe container if you have a large enough one) and store in the freezer until ready to bake (at least 1 hour). 
  6. Pre-frosting assembly and baking:
    1. Pre-heat oven to 340F.
    2. Remove pan from freezer. Fill the crusts with almond cream (up to about ~1/3 or 1/2 of the crust height).
    3. Add a layer of the apples mixture on top of the almond cream. 
    4. Sprinkle a generous amount of streusel on top of the apples. 
    5. Bake tartelettes for 25-35 minutes until golden. 
    6. Remove from oven and let cool down to room temperature.
  7. [optional] Frosting [can be prepared while tartelettes are in the oven]:
    1. Whip all frosting ingredients in a mixer with a whipping-balloon attachment until firm. 
    2. Fill a pastry bag with a smooth or star tip attached. 
    3. Put the pastry bag in a high glass (or keep it in the high glass or whatever vessel you probably used anyway for filling the pastry bag) and seal the top of the bag (using a plastic clip or similar). Put in the refrigerator until ready to use (while in the fridge, the frosting cream will further firm as the pudding powder kicks in - this will help the frosting to hold its shape better once frosted on the tartelettes). 
    4. Once the baked tartelettes are cooled down: At this point, it is recommended to transfer the tartelettes to the container in which you intend to store them, and/or the serving platter on which you intend to serve them (it's easier and less messy to move around non-frosted tartelettes compared to moving around frosted tartelettes... trust me).
    5. Frost each tartelette with the frosting cream (no need to use a lot of frosting on each tartelette, a small amount goes a long way, the tartelettes are super-rich as is even without any frosting).
    6. [optional] Dust a bit of cinnamon on top of the frosting for extra decoration.
  8. Enjoy! Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Highly recommend to consume within 2-3 days, after that - the crust may become soggy.