This walnut crumble topped apple tart has a delicious combination of soft cinnamony apples and crunchy, nutty topping. It's as well it's relatively healthy, as you'll be back for another slice.

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When we were in Santa Fe last month we had some delicious Southwestern food, as expected. It was something we had been looking forward to, in fact, and I think my husband was pretty proud of the fact he managed all but about two meals in the week we were there without chili.

Yes, that includes breakfast (Tex Mex migas were often in our breakfast buffet, or at a minimum there was salsa verde available to top your eggs).

However alongside all the guacamole and enchiladas, I also had a truly delicious apple tart one night. It was a surprising find in an otherwise very Southwestern, busy but no-frills place, but apparently a house special. The tart had a lovely cinnamon flavor and was topped with a crumble that had walnuts mixed through. It was so good I felt I had to try to make my own version of it.

It's all in the topping

Without the crumble topping, this is kind of what you would call a French apple tart. That means it's simply a pastry base filled with sliced apples rather than having a sauce of any kind mixed in. Rather than being about any sauce-like filling, it's completely about the apples, which are also generally thinly sliced and usually become nice and soft.

With the walnuty crumble topping here, the great part from the cook's perspective is you don't have to worry about how carefully you lay the apples in as you don't see them.

From the eater's perspective, it means you have a deliciously flavorful topping that goes really well with the soft, sweet apples inside. This is a dessert that's sweet, but not overly sweet. You'll see there's not all that much sugar in there (you could increase a bit if you prefer). It's wonderfully comforting too.

How to make walnut crumble topped apple tart

This apple tart is really not that difficult to make.

Mix together the pastry ingredients - I used the same recipe I used in my pumpkin pie where the food processor does the work - then roll it out and fill your tart dish.
Chill the pastry case while you cut up the apples and toss them with cinnamon, sugar and a little lemon juice.
Whizz up the walnuts, oats, sugar and butter to make the crumble then assemble it all.

I laid the apples out in a relatively typical sort of 'flower' arrangement but as I say there's no reason to be too precise since you are putting the crumble mixture over the top.

Think about the apples

It's worth using apples that are good in flavor and work well to cook with since you want to get a good texture. Whatever you use, though, you don't really risk them drying out since the topping helps hold in the moisture. You just probably don't want apples that will go so soft they become mush.

This walnut crumble-topped apple tart has warm comforting cinnamon in with the apples and a deliciously crunchy nutty topping. It's just the right balance of sweet (but not too much) with the wonderful flavors taking the lead rather than the sweetness. Plus as apple pies go, it's pretty good for you. So dig in and enjoy, and maybe treat yourself to a little cream or ice cream alongside.

Try these other apple recipes:

Apple snack cake
Apple and bacon cornmeal scones
Classic apple tarte tatin
And if you enjoy pie/tart, try my South African milk tart (like a lighter custard pie) and banoffee pie (with caramel, banana and cream).
Plus get more dessert recipes and fall recipes in the archives.

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4.67 from 3 votes