TWD—A Tourtely Apple Tart-Not Really (Chunky Applesauce with toppings)

I wanted to make this week’s Tuesdays With Dorie recipe, I really, really did.  But with two layers of Dorie’s Sweet Tart Dough, I just couldn’t afford the calories, carbs and fat.  (I’m most annoyed about that!)  Jeanette from The Whimsical Cupcake chose A Tourtely Apple Tart (She’ll have the recipe on her blog.)

Well, I decided to play along as much as I could, so I made the applesauce filling—with a few changes, mostly things I omitted from the recipe.  I left out the browned butter, almonds and raisins and forgot the vanilla, which I was going to put in.  After the apples cooked on the stove, I put them in the food processor and pulsed it a few times until they were broken up, but still chunky.  I used five large Cameo apples and half a Fuji apple to equal the 2 pounds. 

Dorie’s recipe instructs that after the apples cook with the lid on, to cook them another five minutes with the lid off, stirring constantly until all the liquid evaporates.  It took almost another 15 minutes for the liquid to be gone and I did not stir them constantly, but did still quite a bit.  I knew this was cooking the apples more than you’d want them for the tart, but since I was just making applesauce, I knew it would be okay.  I think I may not have had the heat on quite high enough.

I thought the applesauce turned out great.  Especially after I found some unbaked crisp in a baggie in the fridge and decided to bake it on a baking sheet and crumble it on top of some applesauce.  I overbaked some of it, but salvaged enough of it for one serving and it was really good.  I don’t even know what the crisp was for and how long it had been in the fridge (a month or two?).  Usually I label things, but I hadn’t done so with this. 

What a snack this was going to be!  I definitely thought a little scoop of fat free vanilla frozen yogurt was perfectly acceptable and appropriate for this!

Since the apples are cooked with a little brown sugar, my mind turned to caramel—and I remembered a jar of homemade caramel sauce in the fridge.  (Again, I have no idea when I made it or for what, but I know it’s homemade since it’s in an apricot preserves jar.)  It was perfect as a little drizzle on top of this.  What seems like such a decadent dessert is really just a little applesauce with some crumble on top and a little fat free yogurt and a teaspoon of caramel.  I have no idea what the calories and carbs were for this, but I know it hardly had any fat!

Thanks for the tourtely tart pick, Jeanette.  Here’s a little write up of the applesauce I made.

Chunky Applesauce, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s A Tourtely Apple Tart

2 pounds tart-sweet apples, peeled, cored and cut into 2-inch chunks (I used Cameo apples)

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons apple juice

pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

pinch of ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

Put the apples, brown sugar, apple juice and nutmeg in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Keep it cooking at a steady boil with the lid on for about 10 minutes.  Remove the cover and stir frequently, cooking until the liquid evaporates, 10-15 minutes. 

Put the apples in the bowl of a food processor and pulse in short 5-10 second intervals until the apples are the consistency you’d like.  Cool and serve.

Want to see some real tourtely tarts?  Head over to the TWD site to check them out.