Appel Taart (Koopman’s) Step by Step

by | Jan 1, 2013 | Dutch, Recipes | 10 comments

 A Dutch Apple Tart can be made from scratch but if you aren’t a confident baker, this easy mix is a fool proof way to enjoy this favourite anyway. I use a 9 inch spring form but any similarly sized baking dish can be used.

Assemble your ingredients….

  • 1 pkg Koopman’s appeltaart mix.
  • 175 gm of soft margerine or butter. That’s 3/4 of a cup.
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 4-5 apples.  You can use more if you want or if your apples are on the small side.  Macintosh tend to cook up a bit mushy, Northern Spy can take forever to bake if they aren’t very ripe.  Ida Red are a nice in between. Tip: if you aren’t sure how many you need, fill your baking dish with apples and add one or two more if you like lots of apples.  Unlike a regular pie its okay if the top and side crusts don’t join perfectly.
  • 35 gm sugar…you can use white or brown sugar.  Taste your apples as you are prepping them.  If they are on the tart side, you might want to add a bit more sugar.
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup raisins. You can also use a combination of raisins and currants. I like to plump mine ahead of time by letting them stand in boiling water as I prep the other ingredients. The raisins make it an authentic Appel Taart but can be left out if you aren’t very keen on raisins. I sometimes use blackberries with the apples instead.

Make the crust….

   Cream your butter or margerine.

Add the contents of the appeltaart mix and gently make crumbs.

 Pour the beaten egg into the center and use it to form the dough.  It might seem like there isn’t enough moisture but there is.  Just gently work the crumbs into a ball with your fork. The resulting dough is a hybrid between cookie and pie doughs.

 Grease your baking dish thoroughly, including the sides.

 Press 2/3 of the dough into your spring form or baking dish. Push it from the center to the sides and up.  You will notice that even if your dough didn’t form one solid ball it will have a nice consistency to make the base of your taart.

 Roll out the remaining dough between two layers of waxed paper.  Trim the rough edges so you have more of a square and add  those trimmings to the sides of your taart.  Put the rolled out dough into the fridge until you are ready for it.

 Peel and slice your apples into pieces. Mix with sugar and cinnamon. If you have plumped your raisins then drain them and add them too.

 Now you will be ready to prepare the top crust. A woven crust might seem daunting but this dough is very forgiving and you can “fake” it.

 Cut the rolled out dough into strips and ease it off the wax paper with your paring knife.

 Starting in the center with you longest strips of dough, layer the strips in a woven pattern.  You will probably not be able to repeatedly lift strips to weave so just cut the new strips where they are supposed to run underneath and slip the ends under the upper strips. You will also find that you can pinch two strips together.  The joins will be almost invisible once it is baked.

Bake….

 Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 45-60 minutes.  How long it takes will depend on the type of apples you use.  If you have used firmer apples like Spy you will want to sit your tart on a piece of tin foil and loosely place another piece of foil on top to keep the crust from browning too dark as the apples bake. Be sure to have the shiny side of the foil facing out.

 The tart will be ready when the apples are soft and the crust is golden.  If the crust is done and the apples haven’t softened yet use the tin foil trick in the last illustration to keep the crust from getting too dark. When the tart is done, loosen the crust from the side of the pan with a knife before serving.

Enjoy….!

 Serve it warm on its own or with ice cream.  Bon Appetit!

Variations:  I have used this mix to make small tartlets that I fill with fruit or custard.  I have also used all of the dough to fill a bigger pan and made my own crumbs to top the apples.  It is a very versatile mix.

10 Comments

  1. Disapointed

    Could you please confirm that recipe requires only one egg. I just followed the instructions to the letter and the cake was to crumbly to serve. I used Google translate and the box of Koopman apple tart notes 3 eggs required.

    Reply
    • jacquieisen

      Unless Koopman’s has changed the recipe, it should only take one egg. It could be a variation in egg size that is at fault here. I consulted my friend who bakes appeltaarts all the time. She always uses only one egg but she gets her eggs from her own chickens so they are on the large size. I use eggs from her farm too and am always amazed at how small the “large” eggs at the grocery store are. She uses an additional egg to brush on top but it doesn’t go into the dough. If your eggs are small then I would try beating two and reserve a bit of that for brushing on top. My friend also says it is very important to use cold butter/margarine so it mixed evenly through the dry. If the margarine/butter is warm and soft it will blend with some of the dry and the rest of the dry will end up crumbly. I hope your next attempt will not be as disappointing!

      Reply
    • Jplaister

      The Koop Mans box and recipe has not changed! We just bought a couple of boxes in Amsterdam. 1 egg. I like the idea of making sure your egg is big and farm fresh. Thank you sooooo much for doing this! My husband speaks dutch but still hard to read recipes!!

      Reply
      • Jacqui Eisen

        Thank you for the feedback Josefina! Enjoy your appeltaart!!

        Reply
  2. Jessica Gerngross

    Finding this post just MADE my day! We lived in the NL for three years and I use to read better in Dutch or get my kids to translate it for me. I have 2 koopmans appeltaart boxes we brought home when we moved back to the states. I am finally cooking them up for Thanksgiving. My only wish is that I could get the delicious Elstar apples that were grown so close to our village. Thanks for typing this up and sharing!

    Reply
    • jacquieisen

      Thanks for sharing Jessica! Enjoy your Thanksgiving with appeltaart!

      Reply
  3. Hannie Garcia

    I made the apple pie yesterday and it was so tasty. I had to transfigure the Dutch measurements into our American measurement. I just read the recipe in English so no problem for next time. I just need to buy 4 boxes in stead of one box for next time. Thank you. 😉

    Reply
    • jacquieisen

      You are making my mouth water! Four boxes is a good plan…can you have too much apple taart?

      Reply
  4. Ken

    I used a 9″ pan but the dough was not enough to cover the bottom and up the sides although it was thin on the bottom. Disappointed because it is impossible to add more

    Reply
    • Jacqui Eisen

      Hi Ken, I double checked the instructions on the box for the size of the springform. It says 24 cm which would be equivalent to 9 inches. I can understand your disappointment. I expect the problem is that some people might be used to it being thicker than Koopmans thinks it should be. I know when I make it, there is JUST enough!!

      Reply

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