This stunning dessert is delicious, yet surprisingly easy to make! Wow your guests with this heavenly apple rose tart with dulce de leche!
I always get so many oohs and ahhs when I make this dessert!
For some reason, people think it's complicated because of its pretty design.
Believe me, though, it isn't!
This tart is similar to the classic French apple tart, but instead of the apple compote on the bottom, I added dulce de leche, instead. The result? AMAZING! Apples are absolutely perfect with dulce de leche!
Love tarts? Try my Fresh Fig Crumble Tart or my Apple Crumble Tartlets.
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Why I love this dessert (and I think you will too!):
- You'll save time by using ready-made dulce de leche instead of making it, which can take several hours.
- You don't need to soften the apple slices first in order to arrange them.
- You don't need to pre-bake (or blind bake) the crust.
- It's lightly spiced and not overly sweet.
You will need:
- Tart crust: I make my own pâte sucrée, which is a classic French sweet pastry crust that's traditionally used for tarts. It's basically a sweet shortcrust pastry. If, however, you're pressed for time, you could just buy a ready made tart shell.
- Dulce de Leche: Dulce de leche is similar to caramel. It's a beautiful creamy sauce that you can drizzle over cheesecake, ice cream, brownies, or whatever you like, really. It's slowly cooked over a long period of time. To make things easier and save time, I just use a can of ready-made dulce de leche.
- Apples: I use Gala apples because they're mildly sweet and I love the color in the tart (that's why I don't peel them), but you could use your favorite variety, instead.
How to make sweet pastry crust
Make-ahead tip
The tart dough can be frozen for later use. I wrap it in plastic wrap and then place it in 1 or 2 freezer bags to prevent any odors from being absorbed. It can be frozen for up to a month. To thaw, just put it in the refrigerator the night before you want to use it.
How to slice the apples for the rose design
Slicing the apples is really simple. After you wash them, here's what to do:
I like to keep all the slices in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap so that they don't brown until I'm ready to use them.
Since the apple slices will be placed vertically in the tart, you can slice the bottoms of the bigger ones so that they're all the same height. You could do this by stacking a few slices on top of each other and then cutting off a bit of the bottom part that will be placed in the tart.
How to make this easy apple rose tart with dulce de leche
Tips for success
- I suggest using a mandoline to thinly slice the apples. It just makes everything easier and allows for even baking because all the slices are the same size. If you don't have a mandoline, you can slice them with a sharp paring knife - they need to be about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick.
- Before spreading the dulce de leche on the crust, stir it a few times in a bowl to make it a bit creamier and easier to spread.
- Keep the butter cubes in the freezer while preparing the other ingredients for the crust. It will stay nice and cold and make it easier to pulse.
- A removable bottom tart pan will make it really easy to slip off the outer ring without ruining the beautiful, fluted crust. For this recipe, I used a nonstick 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
- Wait at least 1 ½ hours for the tart to cool down before cutting, otherwise it will fall apart.
- You don't have to keep the skins on the apples like I did, but if you do, use a serrated knife to slice the tart so that the spiral design remains intact.
Serving ideas
- I think this tart is best served warm or at room temperature.
- A simple, but pretty topping would be dusting the tart with powdered sugar.
- It's also delicious served with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.
- If you want, you could reserve a few tablespoons of the dulce de leche and drizzle it on top before serving.
Enjoy!
~Voula
More apple recipes to try!
Let me know how this Easy Apple Rose Tart with Dulce de Leche turns out for you in the comments below! I'd love to hear from you!
Recipe
Easy Apple Rose Tart with Dulce de Leche
Equipment
- one 11-inch (28 cm) or 9-inch (23 cm) tart pan with a removable bottom
Ingredients
For the pâte sucrée
- 2 cups (8.8 oz / 250 g) all-purpose flour
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 stick + 1 tablespoon (125 g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 egg yolk
- 4 tablespoons (1.8 fl oz / 50 ml) ice water
For the filling & topping
- 1 can ready-made dulce de leche (13.4 oz / 380 g)
- 4 - 5 Gala apples, cored and cut into ⅛ inch / 3 mm thick slices
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Note:
For best results, please read through the full post before beginning the recipe.
Instructions
Make the pâte sucrée
- In a food processor, pulse together the flour, salt and sugar until combined.
- Add the cubed butter, a few at a time (I do it in 3 batches), and pulse until the dough looks like coarse crumbs.
- In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk together with the ice water and slowly add it to the flour mixture. Pulse until the dough comes together.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll into a ball. Then shape it into a flat disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Prepare the filling & topping
- In a small bowl, stir the dulce de leche a few times to make it creamier and easier to spread. Set aside.
- Cut the cored apples in half. Place the cut side down and thinly slice them (about ⅛ inch / 3 mm thick). Place them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to prevent browning. Set aside 3-4 really thin slices in another bowl with a few drops of water.
- Preheat oven to 392 °F / 200 °C.
- Roll out the dough and fit into the tart pan.
- Spread the dulce de leche on the bottom of the crust.
- Starting from the edge of the tart, place overlapping apple slices vertically, cut side down. Each slice should overlap the previous one halfway.
- Continue arranging the apple slices tightly into a spiral until you reach the center of the tart.
- Roll the 3-4 very thin apple slices together into a spiral shape. Place it in the center of the tart.
- Sprinkle the entire tart with cinnamon.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until it's golden brown.
- Allow it to cool for at least 1 ½ hours before slicing.
- Enjoy!
Anna
What a pretty tart! This would be great for a dinner party!
Voula
Yes! It's a great after-meal dessert, especially in the fall! It would be nice for Thanksgiving, too!
Katrin
Perfect tart! Beautiful appearance, smooth taste, sweet as it should be.
Voula
Thanks so much, Katrin! I'm so happy you enjoyed it!!