This elegant Caramel Apple Tart is one of my all time favorite recipes! It pairs sweetly spiced apples with rich salted caramel and buttery pecans for a dessert that hits all the right notes. Move over apple pie, this Apple Tart is here to steal the show!
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A Dreamy Caramel Apple Tart Recipe
I’ve made a lot of Thanksgiving desserts in my day, but this Caramel Apple Tart is easily in my top 3. It’s absolutely gorgeous and tastes even better than it looks. The combination of buttery crust, warmly spiced apples, and maple caramel is absolutely irresistible.
Perhaps my favorite thing about this recipe is the unusual tart crust. I learned this method from David Lebovitz, who borrowed it from a French friend. Instead of cutting butter into flour (one of my least favorite kitchen tasks), the butter is melted in the oven, then combined with flour. It makes for a play-doh like consistency that is fantastically easy to work with and produces a lovely light and flaky crust.
This recipe would be an absolute stunner for your holiday table, and it’s literally as easy (or easier) than apple pie to make. Layering the spiced apples and making the salty maple caramel is one of my favorite ways to pass a fall afternoon.
I sure hope you fall as head over heels for this recipe as we have!
CourtneyKey Ingredients + Substitutions
- Butter, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, flour– These form the base of the tart dough. I recommend using unsalted butter. You can substitute canola or avocado oil if you prefer.
- Apples– Choose a firm, crisp, sweet tart apple that will hold its shape. My favorites are Jonagold and Cosmic Crisp.
- Spices– Warm cinnamon and cardamom flavor the apples. If you don’t have cardamom on hand, you can omit it and add a pinch of nutmeg. We use cardamom in many fall favorites including chai concentrate and apple blueberry crumble.
- Pecans– The perfect buttery crunch paired with the apples. Substitute walnuts or slivered almonds if you prefer.
- Caramel sauce– We’ve included a recipe for our favorite maple caramel sauce in this recipe, but you can also use store bought salted caramel sauce.
- For the caramel, you’ll need pure maple syrup, cream, butter, and salt.
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and instructions.
How to Make an Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce: Step by Step Instructions
The key to this recipe is to prepare the fillings and caramel toppings while the tart crust is baking. I’ve included step by step instructions for making the tart below!
Step 1: Prepare the tart crust. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place butter, oil, water, sugar, and salt in an oven-safe bowl. Melt in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to brown.
Step 2: Add flour. Remove the bowl from the oven and set on a hot pad. Dump in the flour and use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture together until the dough forms a ball.
Step 3: Press into tart pan. Once the dough is cool enough to handle, transfer it to a 9 inch round tart plate with a removable bottom. Press it down with a spatula, then use your fingers to spread it evenly across the pan and up the sides. Prick the dough with a fork.
Step 4: Bake the crust. Place the tart shell in the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until the edges are starting to brown.
Step 5: Prepare the apple filling. In a bowl, toss the sliced apples with the cinnamon, cardamom, sugar, and flour.
Step 6: Arrange apples and bake. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Arrange the apple slices in the tart pan, overlapping them in circles from the outside in. Bake for 20 minutes.
Step 7: Add caramel and pecans. Remove the tart from the oven and top with pecans. Drizzle caramel sauce over all. Return to the oven and bake another 16-18 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and apples are crisp-tender.
Storage and Make-Ahead Instructions
- The crust could be prepped and blind baked 24 hours in advance. Store, covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature.
- Apple tart is best served on the day it’s made, but it’s still delicious a day or two later.
- Store leftover tart at room temperature, covered in saran wrap. It will keep for 3 days.
Recipe Tips & Variations
- Aim for thin apple slices, but not paper thin. You want the apples to hold their shape, but be thin enough to bend around the tart pan.
- Arrange apples with the flat side down. For the prettiest appearance, stand the apples up with the rounded edge on top and the flat side on the bottom. Overlap them and lay in concentric circles from the outside to the center. You might need to break a few slices in half in the center.
- Choose a firm, sweet tart apple like Cosmic Crisp, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady or SweeTango. Save soft or mealy apples like Red Delicious and Gala for slow cooker cinnamon applesauce.
- Swap the caramel. We use an easy maple caramel for this recipe, but you could swap homemade salted caramel sauce or use a store-bought caramel sauce.
- Swap or omit the nuts. You can leave the pecans out or swap them for walnuts or sliced almonds.
FAQS
Yes, you can substitute a different pie dough, but be sure to press it fairly thin in the pan. You might have leftover dough.
You can also make this in a regular pie pan, but you’ll need to serve it straight from the pie dish.
Apple tarts are made in a tart pan with shallow scalloped edges and a removable bottom that allows the tart to easily be removed from the pan. Apple pies are made in pie dishes and are typically thicker than tarts. They can also be made with a second crust on top, whereas tarts have an open top.
More Apple Desserts to Try
If you’re looking for more delicious apple recipes, be sure to check these out:
- Spiced Apple Cake
- Caramelized Apple Pie
- Apple Dapple Cake
- Apple Crumb Cake
- Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings
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Caramel Apple Tart with Pecans
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into small chunks)
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- Pinch salt
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
For the apples:
- 3 crisp, sweet tart apples (like Cosmic Crisp or Pink Lady)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
For the Maple Caramel:
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 12/-3/4 teaspoon coarse or flaky sea salt (to taste)
Instructions
For the tart crust:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In an oven safe bowl, combine butter, oil, water, sugar, and salt. Place the bowl in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the butter is bubbling and just starting to brown.
- Carefully remove the bowl of butter from the oven and set it on a hot pad. Dump in the flour and use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture together until the dough forms a ball.
- Once the dough is cool enough to handle, transfer it to a 9 inch round tart plate with a removable bottom. Press it down with a spatula, then use your fingers to spread it evenly across the pan and up the edge of the tart pan. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork. Place the tart crust in the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until the edges are starting to brown.
For the apple filling:
- While the tart bakes, peel and core the apples and cut into thin slices. In a bowl, toss the apples with cinnamon, cardamom, sugar, and flour.
- Remove the tart dough from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees. Arrange the apple slices inside the tart, standing them up against each other and overlapping them in concentric circles from the outside in. Place the tart back in the oven for 20 minutes.
For the caramel sauce and final bake:
- While the tart bakes, prepare the caramel sauce. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the maple syrup and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Whisk in the cream and return the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue to boil for 8-10 minutes, whisking often, until the mixture has deepened in color and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Add salt, to taste.
- Remove the tart from the oven and pour all but 1/4-1/3 cup of the sauce over the top. You want everything to be well covered in the caramel. Return the tart to the oven for an additional 16-18 minutes or until apples are softened and crust is browned. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing the tart from the pan.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with leftover caramel sauce, if desired.
Notes
- You can substitute our classic salted caramel sauce or a store bought caramel sauce for this recipe if you prefer.
- Feel free to omit the pecans or swap them for walnuts or sliced almonds.
- If you don’t have a tart pan, this can be made in a standard pie plate. I recommend using our Buttermilk Pie Crust if you go this route.
- This tart keeps well at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for about 3 days.
Equipment
Nutrition
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