Caramel apple tart (karamel appeltert)

Caramel apple tart – apple slices nestled on cake batter, baked, and then covered in a creamy syrup – might well be one of South Africa's most popular apple tart recipes. It is delicious served hot or cold, and with or without custard or vanilla ice-cream.

To make it a bit healthier, we reduced the sugar and used brown instead of white sugar. We find it to be sweet enough, with a lovely caramel flavour. If you're feeling traditional and want to try the original recipe, you can use a cup of white sugar each for the batter and the syrup. You can also double the recipe and bake it in a large baking dish.

Ingredients

Tart

  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) melted butter
  • 3/4 cup (180 ml) brown sugar (the original recipe use 1 cup white sugar)
  • 2 eggs
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 cup self-raising flour
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
  • 1 tin (385 gram) pie apples, or about 6 fresh apples

Sauce

  • 1/2 cup (100 gram) raw or brown sugar (the original recipe use 1 cup white sugar)
  • 1/2 of a 385 gram tin (that is, you need 185 gram) of evaporated milk ("Ideal milk"), or a small tin of Nestlé cream
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) caramel essence or vanilla extract

Method

  1. Grease the dish. We use a square 21 cm x 21 cm dish, but you can use a slightly larger rectangular one as well.
  2. If you are using fresh apples, peel, core and slice. Do not add any sugar and cook in a saucepan until slightly softened.
  3. Mix butter, sugar, salt and eggs together until smooth and creamy.
  4. Add the self-raising flour and the milk and mix well with a whisk, to make a smooth batter.
  5. Pour the batter into the greased baking dish, and layer the drained apples on top.
  6. Bake in the oven, at 180°C, for about 45 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
  7. Combine all the sauce ingredients and heat gently while whisking regularly, until perfectly smooth. Keep warm while the tart is baking.
  8. When the tart comes out of the oven, run a knife around the inside edges of the dish. The idea is to separate the tart from the dish, which will allow it to soak up more sauce. Pour the sauce over the tart while it is still hot.