Apple Caramel Crostatas

About a week ago, my husband and I went out to eat at our favorite Italian restaurant. They had a new dessert on the menu that I was dying to try as soon as I saw it. It was an apple caramel crostata, which is basically like apple pie in a bowl. The bowl is lined with flaky, buttery pastry dough and then filled with apples, cinnamon and caramel. It does not get much better than that. So I tried it and it was delicious. Then I got home and of course, had to re-create in my own kitchen. The lady that had been sitting next to us at the restaurant just happened to be an aspiring pastry chef and she shared with me the two things that I should include to make this specific crostata. So I used my favorite apple pie recipe and tweaked it.  I didn’t change the pastry dough. But I added the two things to the filling that make this dessert perfect… orange zest and caramel. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

For the pastry:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated or superfine sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 pound (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter, diced

2 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

1 1/2 pounds McIntosh, Macoun, or Empire apples (3 large)

1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

2 tablespoons caramel sauce

Directions

For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough becomes a solid mass. Turn the dough onto a well-floured board and form into a disk. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Flour a rolling pin and roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a baking sheet.

For the filling, peel, core, and cut the apples into 8ths. Cut each wedge into 3 chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Cover the tart dough with the apple chunks leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.

Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly on the apples. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the apples. Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle.

Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature

…and there you have it! A delicious, restaurant worthy dessert that is sure to please anyone!