How about apples and mascarpone cheese? I made a melt in your mouth tart adding a bit of ricotta too. Mascarpone is like a thick double cream used in a variety of dishes. Desserts made with mascarpone are particularly delicious, think for example of tiramisu’ where mascarpone is a key ingredient. When I went to a Giovanni Rana’s ravioli masterclass he used ricotta mixed with mascarpone and spinach as a filling for the ravioli. The filling was incredibly tasty.
When I go to the dairy in Italy I usually buy fresh mascarpone made on the day but there is no way I can find it in the UK where I live, so the supermarket one will have to do.
For this pie you need to make the shortcrust pastry first then spread a little jam on it and fill it with a delicious mix of mascarpone cream in between a layer of apples.
This is one of those cakes you will make over and over again. The combination of apples with a rich cream like mascarpone is just amazing. This is proper comfort food!
- Prep Time : 30 minutes
- Cook Time : 45 minutes
- Yield : 8
Ingredients
- For the pastry:
- plain flour (sieved) – 200 g – 1 + ¾ cup + extra to sprinkle
- butter – 100 g – ½ cup
- egg – 1
- sugar – 60 g – ⅓ cup
- vanilla essence – 1 tsp
- For the topping:
- apples – 2 (about 300 g or 1 + 3/4 cup of peeled apples)
- egg – 1
- sugar – 70 g – 1/3 cup
- mascarpone cheese – 300 g – 1 + 1/3 cup
- ricotta cheese – 150 g – 2/3 cup
- lemon zest – of 1 lemon
- jam – 2 tbsp
Instructions
Peel and slice the apples.
Make the pastry. Put the flour on your worktop, add the egg, the vanilla, the sugar and the softened butter. Working quicky combine the ingredients and make a smooth ball. Add a little extra flour if the pastry feels too sticky.
With a rolling pin roll the pastry and place it on a round well greased baking tin measuring approx 25 cm or 9.8 inch diameter. Prickle the bottom of the pastry with a fork. Bake it for 10 minutes at 180C or 350F.
In a bowl work together the mascarpone with the ricotta cheese, the egg, the lemon zest and the sugar.
Remove the pastry from the oven, let it cool down for a few minutes then spread the jam on the bottom. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture on top then place the apples on it and finally the remaining mixture levelling well.
Bake at 180C or 350F for approximately 35 minutes until nice and golden on top.
Remove from the oven and let it cool down before serving it.
My Little Italian Kitchen 
Alida this apples’s tart looks wonderful 🙂
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Thanks Gloria, the whole family enjoyed it.
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An apple tart with the queen of cheese…must have tasted heavenly! Have a great weekend, Alida.
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Another one for me to make on a regular basis 🙂
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l’aggiunta del mascarpone rende questa torta il massimo della golosità ! Un bacione
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Si, magari non leggera come le altre torte di mele ma sicuramente golosissima!
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Un dolce goloso e invitante!!!!
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Le torte di mele vanno sempre!
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This looks absolutely sumptuous, Alida. The combination of flavors really does sound amazing.
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Very pleased with this one Frank. I served it at a dinner party too and everyone loved it.
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Hi Alidia,
Re: apple and mascarpone tart:
Don’t know what happened but my dough was crumbly and wouldn’t stick together. I put in a couple of tsp of milk and that helped bind it. The pie was very tasty and easy to make but once cooked the dough was a little too thick. What did I do wrong? I want to make it again but what do you think I need to rectify? Just so I’m clear it’s 1 3/4 cups flour?
Thank you
Maria
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Dear Maria, if your pastry was too crumbly when you rolled it out then it is most likely that the dough was too dry. Sometimes different types of flour can absorb more of less moisture. You did right to add a little milk and you could also add a little extra butter next time too.
If the dough was too thick you need to use a larger baking tin. Sometimes a thick pastry can be nice but only if the shortcrust pastry is perfectly made and not too hard. To avoid getting a hard pastry always use eggs and butter that are cold (and milk too) from the fridge and work the pastry quickly to avoid overheating it.
I hope it works better next time, let me know 🙂
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Direi ottima questa crostata, perfetto l’abbinamento col mascarpone, bravissima come sempre, baci!
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Love this recipe because it is so easy and versatile. The mascarpone flavored topping really put this dessert over the top.
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You are right, the mascarpone is the cherry on the cake!
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Gorgeous! You are so talented Alida. The flavours in here sound amazing x
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