Szarlotka with cinnamon
Polish-style apple tart, soft apples cooked in a pan with Madagascar cinnamon, shortcrust pastry. Our version, step by step.
- Prep 35 min
- Cooking 50 min
- Total 85 min
- Serves 8 servings
- Difficulty Medium
Szarlotka is the apple tart prepared in Poland, with a shortcrust pastry and apples cooked beforehand until soft. Our version flavours them with Madagascar cinnamon while they cook in the pan.
Our family grows this Ceylon cinnamon in Vangaindrano, in south-eastern Madagascar. Added right from the start of cooking the apples, it has time to blend well into the juice that reduces in the pan.
Preparation
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Make the pastry: mix the flour, sugar and salt, add the cold butter cubes and rub in with your fingertips. Add the egg and bring the dough together without overworking it. Shape into two balls, one with two-thirds of the dough and the other with the remaining third, wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
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Peel and core the apples, then cut them into dice. Cook them for 15 minutes in a pan with the butter, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice, stirring regularly, until soft and most of the juice has evaporated. Leave to cool.
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Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 24 cm springform tin.
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Roll out the larger ball of dough and use it to line the base and sides of the tin.
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Pour the cooled apple compote over the pastry base.
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Grate the remaining dough, still cold, directly over the tart to form an irregular, crumble-like layer.
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Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is nicely golden. Leave to cool completely before removing from the tin, then dust with icing sugar just before serving.
The little extra that changes everything
Let almost all the apples' liquid evaporate in the pan before filling the pastry: a compote that is still runny will make the tart base soggy as it bakes. For more ideas on cooking fruit with spices, see spices and cooked fruit: compotes, pan-fried and roasted. Our products for this recipe: Madagascar cinnamon (40 g glass jar)
