A New Wave, Old-School Apple Tart for the New Year
apple kuchen with tonka bean crème anglaise
A few things to preface this post with:
- This is not exactly a tart, nor is a pie or a cake. By name, the dessert below is a “kuchen” or at least that’s how it’s referred to in my family. Kuchen translates directly to cake in German which makes sense given my grandmother’s family, where this recipe has its origins, were from Austria and Hungary, where German influence was likely cast. I don’t know the exact story behind this kuchen, but it’s long been a family beloved favorite (or at least my personal favorite). It’s come with me to every kitchen I’ve cooked and baked in, in multiple states and countries. It goes through frequent seasonal variations featuring whatever fruit is at its finest.
- I’ve called it “new wave” because that phrase dropped into my head earlier this week and will not leave for some reason, so I’m using it. New wave, because I’ve adjusted and elevated the original family recipe and every seasonal iteration, or every different take on flavor combinations, feels new wave each bake—the coconut-cakey-but-tarty crust is distinctive and really a blank canvas.
- It’s “old-school” of course because of its cultural and familial origins that likely go back over a century.
- And the autumnal version, featuring apples (the fruit in my grandmother Bebe’s original family recipe), is perfectly fitting to call in a sweet new year, as the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah, fell just 2 days ago and it’s traditional to have apples (and honey) to call in a sweet new year ahead. Though there’s no honey in the recipe that follows, the apples and other ingredients bear the flavor of autumn and the hope for a more joyful, peaceful (globally and politically) year.
So the recipe I’ve held under lock and key at times, that has won many a dessert naysayer over, is now yours. Shana tova.
Crust - make 1 crust
Oven temp: 170c / 350f
250g all-purpose flour
135g sugar
50g sweetened shredded coconut
8g baking powder
3g salt
185g butter, melted
1g vanilla powder / 1 tsp vanilla extract
Prepare metal tart tins with baking spray. Whisk together dry ingredients. Add vanilla into melted butter and add to dry ingredients. Mix by hand until incorporated and distributed. It will be crumbly, but not too dry. Press evenly and flat into tart pans (don’t go up the sides).. Blind bake crust 15 minutes (no covering needed), until surface is golden.
Tonka Bean Pastry Cream - makes 2 cups / 1/2 liter
Makes enough for ~2 kuchen, save the rest or make 2 tarts and freeze one!
225g whole milk
225g heavy cream
115g sugar
1g vanilla powder / 2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tonka bean, grated on a microplane *tonka beans are a bean native to South America and have a beautiful vanilla-almond-marizpan flavor when zested—the scent is intoxicating. Historical tidbit, they were formerly banned as being deemed hazardous. no fear, they will not kill you and are now available to purchase on Amazon and many other websites.
30g cornstarch
2g kosher / sea salt
3 egg yolks (54g of yolk)
30g unsalted butter
Warm milk, cream, vanilla powder and grated tonka bean until hand hot / lightly steaming.
Whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk the egg yolks into sugar-cornstarch-salt until well incorporated and creamy. *Do this right before you pour in the warm milk-cream mixture otherwise the cornstarch-egg yolk can get a little lumpy if they sit mixed too long.
Gently whisk in milk-cream into sugar-cornstarch-yolks to temper the egg yolks.
Pour mixture back into pan and cook, whisking constantly/frequently, over low heat until mixture becomes thick and creamy, about 8-12 minutes or more. Remove from heat and whisk in butter. Immediately ice bath to cool. Pass through a fine sieve to remove any cooked yolk. Refrigerate until you’re ready to use it.
Apple Filling (for 1 tart)
6 apples, about 600-700g of thinly sliced apple, no need to peel them
2g kosher / sea salt
50g sugar
40g light brown sugar (muscavado sugar)
1g cinnamon
1g vanilla powder / 2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tonka bean grated
Mix all ingredients, allow apples to macerate 20-30 minutes to release juices.
Topping
quantities are enough for 1-2 kuchen
250g creme fraiche or sour cream
2 egg yolks (36g)
Whisk together.
To Assemble & Bake
Spread thin layer of pastry cream onto blind baked crust(s).
Place apple slices on top, leaving any juices behind in the bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush a light amount of the juices over top apples.
Top apples with creme fraiche-egg yolk topping, spooning it lightly in dabs across the apples.
Bake at 170c / 350f for 18-22 minutes, until topping is golden brown in some spots. Rotating halfway.
*Bonus Points: If you want to go the extra mile and gild the lily, you can serve the kuchen with…more tonka bean - a side car of a quick creme anglaise sauce that follows (with or without the whiskey). Gorgeous, but not entirely necessary — it’s lovely just on its own.
Tonka Crème Anglaise
Makes about 1/2 liter (you will have extra which you can freeze)
550g heavy cream cream
1g vanilla
1/2 tonka bean, grated
2g salt
75g sugar
6 egg yolks (108g)
3-4tbsp whiskey (40-50g or so)
Warm cream through salt until just steaming. Whisk sugar and yolk. Gently pour cream mixture into sugar-yolk to temper. Pour back in pot and constantly whisk on low heat. Whisk until thick enough to coat back of spoon really well. Then add whiskey, taste and adjust achieve the slight taste of whiskey but not impact texture of angliase.
