These trendy upside down apple tarts are inspired from viral TikTok videos featuring golden, flaky puff pastry baked with sliced apple in a caramelized spiced brown sugar. They're incredibly easy to make and makes for great midday snacks and desserts with a scoop of ice cream. An easy, tasty, and fun alternative to classic apple pies. Also try our matcha custard toasts and 2 ingredient chocolate truffles for more tasty, fun, viral TikTok recipes!
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Upside down apple tarts ingredient notes
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities!
- Puff pastry - You can usually find premade puff pastry sheets available at most grocery stores, in the freezer aisles where frozen pies and pies crusts are. Most puff pastries come with 2 sheets. You'll only need 1 sheet per recipe. Make sure to allow the puff pastry to thaw until it's flexible to work with before using.
- Apple - Any apples good for making apple pies will be perfect for these upside down apple tarts. We usually go for envy, honey crisp, and granny smith apples.
- Brown sugar - Just as apple pies are made with brown sugar, these apple pastry tarts tastes better with brown sugar as well! We recommend using light brown sugar for best aesthetics and flavor. If you prefer a healthier sugar alternative, you can use honey instead.
- Spices - Some warm spices is exactly what you need to bring this apple tarts from good to amazing! We like to use our homemade apple pie spices, but you can also use store-bought apple pie spice or use only ground cinnamon. If you wish to make your own apple pie spice, follow the ratio below:
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- Egg wash and decorating sugar (optional) - Both of these ingredients are option. The egg wash can be just a beaten egg, an egg yolk mixed with milk, or just milk. The purpose is to give the tops of the puff pastries a nice golden color and some gloss. For the decorating sugar, we recommend turbinado sugar for topping pastries and baked goods because the large crystals prevent the sugar from melting. Plus, it's very accessible.
How to make upside down apple tarts
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe and instructions!
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C) and prepare a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
2. Cut the apple. Peel and remove the apple core. Cut the apple into 24 thin slices per half an apple.
3. Prepare sugar. In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar and spices until evenly combined.
4. For the puff pastry. Cut the puff pastry into 6 equal pieces, about 3in x 4.5in (7.5cm x 11.5cm) each. You may need to slightly roll out the puff pastry sheet and dust off excess flour if needed.
▶ Optional: If you'd like, you can also cut slits in the puff pastries to help vent the filling.
5. Assemble. Place about 1 teaspoon of the spiced brown sugar mixture onto the prepared sheet pan.
Top it with 4 slices of apple, slightly shingled, followed by another teaspoon or so of the spiced brown sugar. Try to keep the apple and sugar mixture within an area smaller than the width of the puff pastry because you'll want the puff pastry to cover the entire filling.
Lastly place a sheet of the puff pastry on top. Press the edges down and use a fork to make indentations along the edges. Repeat with remaining apple slices, brown sugar, and puff pastry.
▶ Optional: Brush the tops of each puff pastry with egg wash and top with some turbinado sugar.
6. Bake. Place the tray of apple puff pastries into the oven and bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until the tops of the puff pastries are golden brown.
7. Enjoy. Remove the pastries from the oven and let them cool for a couple of minutes. Flip over the pastries while they are warm and enjoy by themselves or with a scoop of ice cream!
Storage
These upside down apple tarts can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week. Make sure to let the apple pastries cool completely before storing in an airtight container
Reheating
The best way to reheat these upside down apple tarts is by air frying or baking.
Air fryer method: Line the bottom of the air fryer basket with foil and place the apple pastry apple-side down. Air fry at 350°F for about 5 minutes or until the pastry is warmed through and crisp again.
Oven method: Place the apple pastry apple-side down on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake in a 375°F preheated oven until warmed through and the pastry crisp again, about 5 to 10 minutes.
You could also microwave the apple pastries until warm. However, the puff pastry may not be as crisp.
FAQs
We recommend using apples you'd normally use for making apple pies. Our favorites apples for this are envy, honey crisp, and granny smith apples.
If you prefer a healthier alternative to brown sugar, honey works really well for this recipe. To substitute with honey, mix the apple with the spices first. Then directly drizzle the honey onto the parchment lined sheet pan, top the spiced apples, drizzle on a little more honey, and finish with the puff pastry.
If you can't find puff pastry, you can also make these upside down apple tart with crescent roll dough or pie crust dough.
📖 Recipe
Upside Down Apple Tart
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry thawed
- ½ apple such as envy, honey crisp, granny smith
- 4 tablespoons light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon apple pie spice *see notes
- 1 egg beaten (optional for egg wash) *see notes
- Turbinado sugar (optional for topping)
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients:Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C) and prepare a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Peel and remove the apple core. Cut the apple into 24 thin slices per half an apple.
- In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar and spices until evenly combined.
- For the puff pastry, cut it into 6 equal pieces, about 3in x 4.5in (7.5cm x 11.5cm) each. You may need to slightly roll out the puff pastry sheet and dust off excess flour if needed.
- Assemble:Place about 1 teaspoon of the spiced brown sugar mixture onto the prepared sheet pan. Top it with 4 slices of apple, slightly shingled, followed by another teaspoon or so of the spiced brown sugar. Lastly place a sheet of the puff pastry on top. Press the edges down and use a fork to make indentations along the edges. Repeat with remaining apple slices, brown sugar, and puff pastry.
- Optional: Brush the tops of each puff pastry with egg wash and top with some turbinado sugar.
- Bake:Bake the apple puff pastry for about 18 to 20 minutes or until the tops of the puff pastries are golden brown.
- Remove the pastries from the oven and let them cool for a couple of minutes. Flip the pastries over and enjoy warm by themselves or with a scoop of ice cream!
Notes
- Sweetener - If you prefer, you can substitute the brown sugar for honey and drizzle the only straight onto the prepared sheet pan. The spices can be tossed with the apples in a bowl before assembling.
- Apple pie spice - You can use store-bought apple pie spice or use just cinnamon. You can also make your own if you have the following spices:
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- Egg wash - If you wish you can also use simply milk to brush the tops of the puff pastry instead of egg. Or you can mix an egg yolk with a tablespoon of milk.
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