Portuguese Apple Tartlet
Also known as: Portuguese Apple Tartlet · Apple-and-Custard Puff Tart
A puff-pastry rectangle with pastry cream and sliced apple beneath jelly.
- Origin
- Portuguese pastry-counter tradition
- Region
- Portugal
- Season
- Year-round
Portuguese pastry-counter Tarte de Maçã is now almost always an individual puff-pastry rectangle. A thin layer of pastry cream supports overlapping apple slices; clear jelly covers the fruit, adds shine and reduces oxidation.
The puff-pastry frame rises around the filling and remains dry and laminated. It is a low open tart, not a covered pie, rolled strudel or slice from a family tart.
- Puff pastry
- Pastry cream
- Sliced apple
- Jelly glaze
Buttery crisp puff pastry, smooth cream, fresh apple and a sweet glossy film.
The older form is oval; the modern one is usually rectangular. Apple variety, number of slices and glaze vary.
It is common in Portuguese pastry shops and bakeries, often beside fruit tartlets and individual puff pastries.
Black tea, coffee or dry cider.
The documented original form was oval, but the rectangle now dominates because it is easy to cut and arrange on trays. The source assigns no inventor, region or date.
It is one of the few traditional counter pastries to include fresh fruit. That characteristic also explains the technical jelly finish: without a protective film, the apple would quickly brown in the display.
Sources: fabricoproprio.net
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