Bake love into your gift: How to create a heart-shaped tart with apple filling

How can we indicate to another person that they hold essential significance in our lives? Aside from heartfelt confessions and tender gestures, homemade gifts hit perfectly. Cooking is no exception. You can whip up a delicious dinner or craft a charming dessert to express your sentiments. 

The focus of our discussion today is a unique dessert. You can prepare it as a part of a birthday gift, dessert after a Valentine's Day dinner, or a sweet surprise for your partner on any day. The heart-shaped tart with apple filling is perfect for any occasion, and its taste lingers for an exceptionally long time because it's that good!

Ingredients:

For the dough: 

• 750g of all-purpose flour,
• 300g of cold butter,
• 250g of sugar,
• 3 eggs,
• 3 teaspoons of vanilla sugar,
• 1 pinch of salt. 

For the filling:

• 4 apples,
• 100g of  butter,
• 80g of sugar,
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

For the decoration: 

• powdered sugar,
• caramel topping.

Step 1. Start by making the crumbly dough. Add flour, cold butter cut into smaller pieces, sugar, eggs, vanilla sugar, and a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl.

Step 2. Knead the dough until it's well mixed, then wrap it tightly in cling film and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.

Step 3. Prepare the filling for the tart. Combine the butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a pan over medium heat. Once the ingredients are well-mixed, add peeled and finely chopped apples.

Stew the fruit for approximately 15 minutes. By this time, the apples should have softened perfectly.

Step 4. Roll the dough into a thin sheet, after which you should cut out two heart shapes.

Step 5. Place the first heart on a tray lined with baking paper. Now spread the cooked apples on the dough and cover them with the second heart.

Step 6. From the leftover dough, cut out mini hearts and place them on top. Bake the prepared tart in a preheated oven for 25 minutes. The oven should be set at a temperature of 190 degrees Celsius.

Step 7. After baking, decorate the pastry with powdered sugar and caramel topping. And that's it, your tart is ready to serve. Enjoy your meal!