Appelkruimeltaart

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •24cm springform tin
• •Mixing bowls
• •Rolling pin
• •Cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the crust

   Butter a 24cm springform tin. Rub the flour, cold butter, caster sugar, and salt together until the mixture looks like coarse meal, then mix in the egg. If the dough refuses to gather, add the cold water one teaspoon at a time. Press it into a flat disc, wrap it, and chill for 30 minutes. Cold butter is the small discipline here; it gives the crust its clean bite instead of a soft slump.

2. 2

   Prepare the apples

   Peel, core, and slice the apples about half a centimetre thick. Toss them with the raisins, granulated sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and cornstarch. The lemon keeps the fruit lively, the cornstarch catches the juices, and the cinnamon does what cinnamon has done in Dutch kitchens for centuries: makes thrift smell like celebration.

   Use apples with backbone. Goudreinet is the old Dutch favourite, tart and firm, but Elstar or Braeburn will behave well. Soft dessert apples melt too quickly and leave you with sweet paste under crumbs.
3. 3

   Line the tin

   Heat the oven to 180C. Roll the chilled dough and line the base and sides of the tin, pressing it about 4cm up the wall. Patch any tears with your fingers; this is a home tart, not a court document. Scatter the crumbled almond paste over the base if using it. It gives a quiet, old-fashioned richness and helps protect the pastry from the apple juices.

4. 4

   Fill the tart

   Pile the apple mixture into the lined tin and press it down gently so there are no large hollows. A high mound is correct; the apples settle as they bake. Pour in any cinnamon sugar left in the bowl, because leaving that behind would be poor scholarship and worse housekeeping.

5. 5

   Rub the kruimel

   For the topping, rub the flour, cold butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt between your fingers until you have uneven crumbs, some sandy and some pea-sized. Do not make it too fine. Kruimel should look like rubble, because those larger pieces bake into the buttery ridges everyone quietly steals first.

6. 6

   Bake until golden

   Scatter the kruimel evenly over the apples and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the crumbs are deep golden, the crust is browned at the edge, and thick apple juices are bubbling at the sides. If the top browns too quickly, lay a loose sheet of foil over it for the last 15 minutes.

7. 7

   Cool before slicing

   Let the tart cool in the tin for at least one hour before removing the ring. This is not politeness, it is structure. The apples need time to settle and the juices need time to thicken, or your first slice will run across the plate like it has an appointment elsewhere.

Chef Tips

• •The best season is autumn into early winter, when Dutch apples have both acid and perfume. The calendar sets the menu here; a tired storage apple in April will still bake, but it won't sing.
• •Do not skip the cooling time. Appelkruimeltaart tastes lovely slightly warm, but it slices cleanly only after the filling has settled.
• •A small layer of almond paste is common in many Dutch apple tarts, though not required. Use it when you want a richer feesttaart, a celebration tart, and leave it out for the everyday coffee table.
• •Serve with unsweetened whipped cream if you like, but keep it modest. The tart already has butter, apple, spice, and crumbs doing honest work.

Advance Preparation

• •The crust dough can be made up to two days ahead and kept refrigerated; let it soften for 10 minutes before rolling.
• •The whole tart can be baked one day ahead. Keep it covered at room temperature and refresh slices briefly in a low oven if you want the crumbs crisp again.
• •Leftovers keep for three days at room temperature or four days refrigerated, though the kruimel softens with time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 235g)