Mini Apple Tarts Crostatine Di Mele

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What are mini apple tarts?

Mini apple tarts are known as “crostatine” in Italy. They are basically a small, snack-friendly version, of crostata – an Italian pie usually filled with jam. If you come to Italy you will find crostatine made with all kinds of fillings, from nutella to jams, and fresh fruits.Since we had a ton of delicious red Italian apples lying around in our kitchen we decided to make crostatine – mini tarts – with them. If you don’t have mini tart pans you can use a regular 9-inch pie dish.In Italy, apples are mostly grown in the northern most regions of Südtirol and Trentino, and if you ever have the chance to drive around their breathtaking peaks and valleys, you won’t be able to miss the tidy apple fields that stretch all around.And the filling of our mini apple tarts is inspired by northern Italian tradition, and it’s similar to the filling for apple strudel. The combination of crispy shortcrust pastry with a sweet apple, cinnamon, raisin, and orange filling is just perfect! If you want to learn more about vegan crostatas check out our Vegan Italian Crostata recipe.

Ingredients & Substitutions

For the shortcrust pastry

Flour: you can use really any flour for these mini apple tarts. Here we use semi-wholegrain flour but you can use all-purpose, spelled, wholegrain, oat flour, and many others.Sugar: you can use any sugar in granular form. We tested both unrefined cane sugar and regular white sugar. They both work.Sunflower seed oil: that’s our favorite vegetable oil for baking. It’s affordable and it doesn’t have much flavor. You can replace it with any other vegetable oil.Water: for vegan crostata we prefer to make our shortcrust pastry with water rather than plant milk because it yields a crunchier shortcrust pastry.Citrus zest: orange, lemon, or lime. Grate their zest to add flavor to the base of the crostata. We prefer orange here.Vanilla: extract, essence, aroma, or real vanilla beans, anything will work in this recipe. We use it to flavor the base of the crostata.Baking powder: this will help make the pie a tiny bit more fragrant. Do not leave it out.

For the apple filling

Apples: any sort will work. We use organic ones since we keep the peel on.Raisins: to add texture and sweetness to the filling.Sugar: just a bit to add sweetness. The amount depends on how sweet your apples are. Our apples are quite sweet so we only add a scant tablespoon.Cinnamon: our favorite spice to combine with apples.Orange: we use both the juice of 1 orange and the zest of 1/2 of the same orange. It really works well in this recipe. It adds both flavor and a touch of natural sweetness.Water: to help the apples cook.

Equipment

For this recipe, you’ll need either 9 mini tart pans 4-inch (10cm) each in diameter, or the more common 9-inch pie dish. We got our mini tart pans off amazon and the crostatine are super cute and fun to eat in this shape. But the larger pie dish works great too, and 1 large crostata is faster to make than 9 small ones.

Mistakes I made

Kneading too much: the biggest mistake I made the first time around was to knead the dough too much. Please DO NOT knead the dough for more than a few seconds. Kneading will develop the gluten network and your mini apple tart won’t be as fragrant and crisp. Too much sugar: I added too much sugar to the apple filling. Before adding sugar, make sure you know your apples. If they are sweet you won’t need more than a tablespoon of sugar. Also, keep in mind that the raisins add quite a bit of sweetness too.

Tips

Use fresh apples: if you can, don’t use jams for this crostata. Jams are packed with soo much sugar, and very little fruit. Making your own apple filling is a much healthier and much more delicious alternative. Apples are full of fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants that will help slow down the absorption of sugar in your tarts.Use a less refined flour: if you can, try to avoid using cake flour or all-purpose flour as they contain pretty much zero flavor, little nutrition and very little fibre. Fibre helps slowing down sugar absorption and keeps your digestive system healthy. Opt for a semi-whole-wheat flour or even for a full whole-wheat flour. They both work great in our recipe.

Frequently asked questions

Storage

The best way is to keep them up to 4-5 days in a dry and cool place stored with a cake cover. You can also store them in the fridge for up to a week, however, make sure you wrap them up well or they’ll absorb weird flavors from your fridge. Also, it is likely that in the fridge they’ll become a bit soggy as the crust tends to absorb moisture when stored in the fridge.Can I freeze the mini apple tarts?Yes, but we don’t recommend it because it is likely that the crust will absorb moisture and won’t be as fragrant as freshly made.If however, you decide to freeze them you have two options. One, freeze raw before you bake it. Then on the day you want to bake you need to let it unfreeze for two hours before baking them.Two, freeze it cooked. In this case, once thawed, you can warm them up in the oven for a few minutes before serving. In both cases, you can only freeze it for up to one month.

Variations

Vegan strawberry tart

An eye-catching dessert that will wow your friends and family thanks to its popping colour and flavor. Our tart is made with a crunchy shortcrust pastry base, filled with a smooth and creamy vanilla custard, and topped with sweet fresh strawberries.

Vegan Italian crostata

In this blog post, we will show you how to make a vegan crostata, just like the one made in Italy. And because we love crostata so much, we made 3 different variations: a classic strawberry jam crostata, a wholegrain crostata with apricot jam and an oatmeal crostata with blueberries.

Fruit tart with custard

This beautiful and delicious fruit tart with lemon custard is a classic Italian pastry recipe that everyone loves. It’s egg-free, dairy-free, and made with whole grain flour and plenty of fresh seasonal fruit. For many more easy dessert ideas, check out our desserts category page.