Welcome to another special treat from Lenie @ Frugal For Everyone. You will love her Dutch Appletaart recipe.
Autumn is the perfect time of year for me to make this Dutch Appeltaart. We have an old-fashioned apple tree growing right outside our back door and this year it’s loaded with the absolute best baking apples. We also have numerous apple orchards within a half-hour’s drive from us, making for an abundance of apples.
The Dutch don’t – or at least never used to – serve dessert after meals. Goodies like the Appeltaart were served with coffee on Sundays after church, making both the treat and the day special.
Dutch Appeltaart
Needs: Greased or non-stick 9″ springform pan
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
Step One: Preparing the raisins.
Pour 1 cup sultana raisins into a small bowl, cover with 2 Tbsp. brandy or cognac and set aside for the raisins to soak up the brandy and plump up. For a non-alcoholic version, soak the raisins in 2 Tbsp. warm apple-cider or a good quality apple juice.
Step Two: Preparing the dough.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/8 cup (300g) self-rising flour
- 1 egg, well beaten
- ¾ cup (180g) unsalted butter, ice-cold, cut in small pieces
- ½ cup (150g) brown sugar
- 1 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest
- A pinch of salt
Directions:
Put the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the well-beaten egg and cut in the ice-cold butter until well blended. Add the brown sugar, the lemon zest and the salt. Knead the dough by hand until the dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator while preparing the filling.
Step Three: Preparing the filling.
Ingredients:
- 6 cups finely chopped apples (about 5 or 6 apples – 2½ lbs.)
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. ginger
- ¼ tsp. allspice
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg
- Brandy soaked raisins
- 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Directions:
Peel, core and chop the apples. Sprinkle with the lemon juice. Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg together and add to the chopped apples. Stir in the brandy-soaked raisins. Sprinkle with the corn starch. Give everything another stir until it’s mixed really well.
Step Four: Preparing the streusel topping.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup melted butter
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together until crumbs form. Set aside.
Step Five: Putting it all together.
Very lightly flour the area of the counter where you’re going to work.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on the floured area. This is the tricky part. Using your hands, form a circle one inch (+/- 2cm) larger than the bottom of the springform pan. This will require pushing, pulling and patching, which is ok. Once the circle of dough is large enough, transfer it to the springform pan. Fix the dough right in the pan if needed. Don’t worry, the dough is very forgiving. The circle needs to cover the bottom and about an inch or a couple of centimeters up the side.
Use a slotted spoon to add the filling – leaving any liquid behind.
Sprinkle the streusel mixture evenly over the top.
Step Six: Finishing the Dutch Appeltaart.
Place on middle rack of preheated oven and bake 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove your Dutch Appeltaart from oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before removing it from the springform pan.
This Dutch Appeltaart is best served warm or at room temperature and even better served with vanilla ice-cream or whipped cream. Make it Canadian – add a few slices of cheddar cheese.
Now just sit back, relax and enjoy your Dutch Appeltaart. Yum.
Talk to you again soon, Lenie @ Frugal For Everyone.
Time to eat…
If you enjoyed this “Dutch Appeltaart,” check out Lenie’s Easy Herb Butters, Make Ahead Breakfast Foods. If you are so inclined, take a moment to check out my Easy Breakfast Coffee Cake, Rustic Apple Pear Tart and Stuffed Baked Apples.
