Dutch Apple Tart (Appeltaart)
Dutch Apple Tart (appeltaart) is made with a brown sugar cookie crust & a simple apple filling. This authentic recipe is from my Dutch mother-in-law.
My husband moved from The Netherlands to the US after college and every once in a while he craves a taste of home.
This recipe is based on one that my husband xeroxed from his mom’s old cookbook. To adapt it for the US kitchen I converted the metric measurements to cups and ounces and used ingredients available to American bakers.
Otherwise, the recipe is very similar to how my mother-in-law made it since, probably, the 1950s.
How Dutch Apple Tart is different than American Apple Pie:
A Dutch Apple Tart is different than an American Apple pie, and it’s definitely not what most Americans call a Dutch Apple Pie. What is known in America as Dutch Apple Pie is an apple pie with a crumb topping.
Dutch Apple Tart has a cookie-type crust and is baked in a spring form pan rather than a pie pan. The filling is simply apples with sugar and a little cinnamon. There’s no thickener in the filling so the juices are reabsorbed into the apples and the crust as it cools.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Apples – A firm apple that doesn’t fall apart when baked works best. Granny Smith is a good option that is widely available.
- Sugar – The Dutch recipe calls for a type of sugar that we don’t get here in the US, so this recipe uses a mixture of brown and granulated sugar to get a similar result.
- Bread Crumbs – The Dutch would use “beschuit”, which is a type of dry rusk toast to soak up the juice from the apples. This recipe employs dry bread crumbs for the same purpose.
How to make Dutch Apple Tart (appeltaart)
See the recipe card for detailed measurements and instructions.
- Combine the dry ingredients with lemon zest in a mixing bowl.
- With the mixer running, add the butter and mix until it looks like crumbs.
- Add the egg.
- Mix until the dough comes together.
- Divide the dough into 2/3 and 1/3 pieces and refrigerate until firm.
- Toss the sliced apples with sugar and cinnamon.
- Roll the larger portion of dough to fit a 9″ springform pan.
- Fit the dough into the pan. If the soft dough breaks apart just piece it back together, ensuring there are no gaps in the dough.
- Sprinkle dry bread crumbs into the pan.
- Pour the apples into the pan.
- Roll the smaller portion of dough to a 10″ by 14″ rectangle. Cut the dough into 1″ strips.
- Lay the strips in a lattice pattern over the apples. You can weave the lattice or simply lay them in a criss-cross pattern. Either way it bakes up with a pretty top.
- Cut the dough from the sides to be level with the top.
- Brush the tart with egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
- Bake until the apples in the center are tender.
Pastry Chef tips for making a great Dutch Apple Tart:
- You may want to adjust the amount of sugar in the filling based on your taste and the flavor of your apples.
- The crust comes together like a cookie dough. It may be quite soft right after mixing so it’s best to chill it before rolling. The dough can be made ahead and refrigerated for 2-3 days or frozen for a month.
- There’s a good chance the dough will break apart as you transfer it to the pan. It’s fine to just smoosh it back together to fill the pan.
Storage
The tart is best the day it’s baked, but keeps well for 2-3 days at room temperature. Leftovers can be refrigerated for a week or frozen for up to a month. I like to microwave a slice for just 10-15 seconds to warm up the apples a little.
As they say in Holland, “eet smakelijk”!
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Dutch Apple Tart (Appeltaart)
Ingredients
Tart Dough
- 15 oz all purpose flour (3 cups, see note)
- 4 oz granulated sugar (½
cup) - 4 oz light brown sugar (½ cup)
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 lemon (finely grated zest)
- 10 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 large egg (whisked)
Filling/Assembly
- 3 pounds tart apples (peeled and cored)
- 5 oz granulated sugar (½ cup plus 2 tablespoons)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 oz dry bread crumbs (¼ cup)
- 1 large egg (whisked for egg wash)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 °F. Liberally butter a 9" spring form pan.
Make the Dough
- Combine 15 oz all purpose flour, 4 oz granulated sugar, 4 oz light brown sugar, ½ teaspoon table salt and finely grated zest from 1 lemon in a mixing bowl. With the mixer running, toss in 10 oz unsalted butter and mix until thoroughly combined. With the mixer running, add 1 large egg and mix just until it forms a dough.
- Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead together if there's any loose flour left. Split the dough into 2 uneven pieces, ⅔ and ⅓. Wrap the dough and chill it for at least a hour for it to firm up.
- Roll the ⅔ portion of the dough into a 16" round. Lift the dough onto the rolling pin and unroll over the pan. The dough may break apart but you can just piece it together to line the pan.
Assemble the Tart
- Cut 3 pounds tart apples into quarters and slice each quarter into ¼" thick slices. Toss the sliced apples with 5 oz granulated sugar and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon. Sprinkle 1 oz dry bread crumbs into the bottom of the tart shell and then pour the apples over the bread crumbs. The pan will be about ⅔ – ¾ full.
- Brush the inside of the tart shell from the apples up with egg wash. Roll the remaining ⅓ portion of the dough into a 10" x 14" rectangle. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut the dough into 1" wide strips. Arrange the strips in a lattice pattern over the apples. You don't need to actually weave the lattice, just lay the strips on top of each other. Trim the excess dough and brush the top of the crust with egg wash. Sprinkle the top of the tart with granulated sugar.
- Place the pan onto a baking sheet and bake for about 1 ¼ hours until the apples in the middle are tender and the juices are bubbling. Cool completely in the pan.
- To unmold the tart, run a knife around the edge to make sure the crust isn't sticking and then release the pan.
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I love cookie crust apple pie! Much more forgiving than conventional pie crust and it has the added bonus of tasting like apple pie and a cookie at the same time. Entirely reliable recipe. Thank you!
Eileen, this tart is delicious ! My son is studying Netherlands in social studies and for his project decided to bring in this for his presentation to share with the class. It was a huge hit ! I know the importance of passing down recipes and have my mother in laws apple pie; the recipe card is well seasoned. I appreciate you sharing this recipe. I am making it again this weekend with fresh picked cortland apples.
Wonderful!
Amen!
This is the real deal Eileen. And yes, to the breadcrumbs. They absorb the apple juices so beautifully. In our family we also add a splash of Amaretto to the breadcrumbs. Nice chunks of apples…But nothing can replace the taste of goudreinette apples. Just because of that I planted a few trees. I’m hoping for 5 apples this year so I can make one original appel taart.
Thanks, Martine. A splash of Amaretto sound like a great addition. I looked up the goudreinette apples and they seem similar to my favorite baking apple, Gold Rush.
@Eileen Gray, now I’m curious and going to find some Gold Rush to compare.
Hi there, this recipe is from the Margriet cookbook if I remember it right. My mom had it on the inside of the kitchen cabinet door – imagine how often we ate it. One thing: you’re using nearly double the amount of flour than in the original recipe, 420 grams is way too much! Not sure if something went awry in the conversion. It’s meant to be quite sweet, not shortcrust pastry-like, so you use plenty of butter and sugar too, and don’t mix! Chop the butter with two knives through the rest of the dry ingredients and then knead with a cool hand, for as short as possible, as overkneading makes it bready. We never used beschuit, I don’t think you need them and breadcrumbs don’t quite do the same thing im afraid. Nice adaptation though. For a real Dutch twist: add a teaspoon of speculaas spice!
Yes, there is more flour in my recipe than the original from the book. But if you look there’s also more butter and sugar. I increased the amount of dough to accommodate the size pan. You can use 2 knives to chop the butter into the flour, but I find using a mixer easier and faster.
Hi Eileen! If I’m making this a day ahead in preparation for Thanksgiving, how should I re-heat the whole tart? Thanks!
You can put it back into the springform pan and warm it in a low oven.