Vanilla Apple Dessert

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 500 g apples, e.g. Boskoop
• 50 g almond flakes
• some sugar
• Cinnamon
• Vanilla
• some lemon juice
• some Calvados, optional
• 500 g vanilla pudding
• 550 g speculatius biscuits
• 250 g butter
• 1 cup of cream
• some sugar
• Cinnamon
• Bitter almond aroma
• possibly cornstarch
• some almond flakes
• some cinnamon
• Speculoos, crumbled

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 25 minutes

as small cakes or dessert in a glass, makes about 8 cakes

For small cakes or dessert in a glass, makes about 8 cakes. The dessert consists of four ingredients: the apple filling, the vanilla pudding, the batter, and the cream. If the dessert is served in a glass, neither speculatius biscuits nor butter are needed. However, for the glass version, it is a good idea to sprinkle a few speculatius crumbs on top. For the vanilla pudding, please choose a different recipe or buy it ready-made. You can’t really go wrong with this. The apple filling: Peel the apples and cut them into approximately 2 cm cubes. Cover the bottom of a saucepan with sugar and heat slowly. Wait until the sugar begins to caramelize. If you’re confident enough to flambé, pour about a shot of Calvados over the sugar and light it. Then immediately deglaze with the apples, a little water, and lemon juice, and stir so that the caramelized sugar dissolves in the liquid. Season with cinnamon and vanilla, cover, and simmer over medium heat until you have a paste reminiscent of apple compote. Meanwhile, toast the almond slivers in a pan and then mix them with the apple filling. If you want to serve the dessert in a glass, you can fill the glasses with the apple filling and vanilla pudding to your taste, and perhaps also with the cream (see below). I recommend sprinkling speculatius crumbs, cinnamon, or almond slivers on top at the end. After all, it’s a feast for the eyes. If you’re not serving in glasses, continue with the dough. Dough: Crumble the speculatius in a bowl using a masher or similar tool until as fine as possible. The finer the crumbs, the easier it will be to shape the tarts afterwards. Melt the butter in the microwave or oven and mix with the speculatius crumbs until you have a smooth mixture. Divide the mixture evenly between small tart tins (I used tins with a diameter of about 8 cm, but other sizes will work too). Press the dough firmly into the bottom and sides with a spoon or a tamper (a cocktail tamper is ideal). The more firmly the dough is pressed together, the better the tarts will hold together. Bake the dough in the oven at 180°C for about 10 minutes. Leave the tarts in the tin and fill them with the apple filling and vanilla pudding. Then return them to the oven at 180°C for another 10-15 minutes. Cream (optional): In a bowl suitable for whipping, combine the cream with cinnamon, bitter almond oil, and a little sugar. Season to taste. If you want to serve the tarts warm, or at least aren’t sure whether the cream will stay cold enough until serving, I recommend mixing in a little cornstarch. This will give the cream a slightly floury taste, but it enhances the almond flavor quite well and isn’t too distracting. Then whip the cream and spread it on the tartlets. Then, for example, dust with cinnamon and/or top with almond flakes.