Why It Works
- Keeping the butter cold during mixing limits gluten development and creates a tender, flaky crust.
- Chilling the shaped tart shell before baking firms the fats, so the crust hold its shape in the oven instead of slumping.
When the holidays roll in, desserts tend to swing big and buttery. This tart does that with a sleek touch, layering gently spiced apples over a smooth, nutty chestnut cream set into a crisp crust. Salted caramel drips over the top and flaky sea salt cuts through the sweetness. It all adds up to a tart that looks lavish and tastes rich, without feeling heavy.
How to Perfect the Crust
This recipe was developed in our Birmingham, Alabama, test kitchen by our colleague Tricia Manzanero Stuedeman. She built the tart from the ground up to stay crisp, structured, and cleanly sliceable under a rich filling.
Achieving that structure begins with the crust. It comes together quickly in the food processor, where cold butter is cut into the dry ingredients before the yolk-and-cream mixture is added. Keeping the butter cold at this stage is key: Solid fat limits how much water can hydrate the flour, which limits gluten development and helps the crust bake up tender rather than tough.
Once rolled and fitted into a tart pan with a removable collar, the dough goes straight into the freezer. Chilling the dough fully firms the fats before baking, helping the crust hold its height and defined edges rather than shrinking or slumping in the oven. To further ensure a flat base and sturdy sides as the dough sets, the crust is blind-baked under foil and pie weights. Once the crust’s structure is set, the weights come off so the shell can finish baking uncovered and stay fully crisp beneath the chestnut cream.
A Chestnut Filling That Stays Light
Chestnut cream (crème de marrons in French) is a sweetened chestnut purée with a smooth, spreadable texture. Also called chestnut spread, it’s a natural partner for apples and caramel. But chestnut cream on its own it can be heavy. Tricia found the best way to balance its rich flavor was to fold it into a lightly sweetened, vanilla-scented whipped cream. After it’s beaten, the vanilla whipped cream is stirred into the chestnut spread in stages so the mixture stays light instead of compacting. Once spread into the fully cooled crust, the filling chills just long enough to set. That brief rest gives the chestnut layer enough structure to support the apples on top, so the slices stay clean and the layers stay distinct.
Sweetened chestnut cream (also sold as crème de marrons) is available at Italian and French specialty stores, well-stocked supermarkets, and online; Tricia recommends the Clément Faugier brand, which is the easiest to find in the US.
Serious Eats / Robby Lozano
The Apple and Caramel Layer
For the apple layer, the goal is fruit that softens without collapsing and keeps its flavor as it cooks gently in the caramel. A firm, sweet-tart apple is ideal here—one that can handle heat without turning mealy and brings enough acidity to keep the sugars from tasting flat. The slices cook gently in butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, with the pot covered at first so the apples steam in their own juices.
Once the apples are just fork-tender, the lid comes off so moisture can cook away and the sugars concentrate into a glossy caramel. Salt keeps the fruit and caramel from tasting flat. It lifts the sweetness while adding contrast, so the result is rich rather than cloyingly syrupy.
Assembling the Tart
Once the chestnut cream filling is fully set, arrange the apple pieces evenly over the surface in whatever decorative pattern you prefer, then drizzle the reserved caramel lightly over them so it coats rather than floods. To finish, chopped toasted or candied pecans add a final layer of crunch, while flaky sea salt pairs well with the caramel and warm spices. Every slice has clean, generous layers—a crisp, buttery shell; a smooth chestnut cream; tender spiced apples; and just enough salted caramel to tie it all together.
This recipe was developed by Tricia Manzanero Stuedeman; the headnote was written by Laila Ibrahim.
