Mini Apple Tarts

These easy vegan mini apple tarts have a buttery shortcrust pastry and gooey apple pie filling! The apple tartlets make cute appetizers and are perfect for when you're craving apple pie with less effort.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, Australian, British

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings mini tarts

Calories 97

Author Anthea

Ingredients

Apple filling

3 medium-size apples of choice, chopped into 1/3 inch or 1 cm cubes
⅓ - ½ cup (65-90g) brown sugar depending on how sweet you like your filling
3 tablespoons (45g) vegan butter chilled or room temperature
2-3 teaspoons lemon juice to taste (or sub with water)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ tablespoons (12g) cornstarch / corn flour

Shortcrust pastry (note 2 for alternatives and ingredient substitutions)

1 ¾ cups (220g) all-purpose plain flour plus extra for dusting
½ cup (115g) vegan block butter room temperature (note 1)
⅓ cup (35g) powdered sugar / icing sugar
2 tablespoons (30g) water or more if needed
Pinch of salt if using unsalted butter

Instructions

Make the apple filling:

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the apples, brown sugar, vegan butter, lemon juice (or water) and cinnamon. Mix until combined or until the butter has melted.
Reduce the stove to medium heat. Cook the apple mixture for around 10 minutes or until the apples have softened. Taste test the apple mixture and add more sugar or lemon juice, to suit your tastes.
In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and 3 tablespoons (23g) of water to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the apple mixture and mix. Cook the apple mixture for another 5 minutes or until it has thickened. Set aside to cool.

Make the shortcrust pastry:

Add the flour, butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl or food processor and mix until there are no large chunks of butter. Gradually add the water and mix until the dough starts to clump together. The dough should be soft and pliable, to the point you can pinch it between two fingers without breaking. If your dough is too dry, add 1 tablespoon of water and mix again. If the dough is too wet, add 1 tablespoon of flour and mix again.

Assemble the mini apple tarts:

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease 1-2 mini tart pans or muffin pans with cooking spray or use melted butter/oil and a pastry brush. You'll get around 20 mini tarts from this recipe.
On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough to a little less than 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick.
Use a 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) fluted cookie cutter to cut rounds out of your pastry. If your tart or muffin tin has a wider base, use a larger cookie cutter. Gently press the pastry rounds into your baking tin. Collect and roll the excess dough and repeat until you've used up the dough (note 2).
Use your fingertips or a small spoon to press the pastry against the bottom and sides of each cavity.
Spoon the cooled apple filling into each tart case. The filling should generously fill each tart and form a small mound. Press down the apple filling into each tart so there are no gaps.

Bake and serve the tarts:

Bake the mini apple tarts for around 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow the tarts to completely cool in their tart or muffin tin, placed on a wire rack.
Just before serving, sprinkle the apple tarts with powdered sugar or drizzle a simple glaze on top. Serve the tarts warm or at room temperature. They're also delicious with some vegan whipped cream or ice cream!
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day, in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month (note 3).

Notes

Alternatively, you can use store-bought pie dough or 1-2 sheets of store-bought puff pastry or shortcrust pastry. Or check out my apple hand pies recipe! For the homemade pastry, you can also use softened room-temperature coconut oil (same quantity as the butter). Add a generous pinch of salt to mimic the buttery flavor. Spreadable vegan butter will also work but I suggest omitting the water and an extra 1-2 tablespoons of flour, if needed.
If this step is too fiddly for you, divide the dough into 20 equal pieces, roll them out and press them into your cupcake/tart mold.
When you refrigerate or freeze the apple pie filling, the butter may solidify - don't worry! Once the tarts are at room temperature or warmed up, the butter will be soft (and not visible) again.

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