Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 2 1/2 cups Diamond Of California® Pecans
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- For the custard:
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 2 yolks
- 1 full egg
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- For the topping:
- 3 apples
- 1 tsp lemon juice
The Steps
- Place pecans in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and blend until mixture comes together into a soft dough.
- Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.
- Press the dough into a 9-inch pie dish, covering the bottom and working the dough up the sizes of the dish. Use a fork to poke several holes in the dough. Put the prepared pie dish into the freeze for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Cool completely before filling.
- Combine the milk and ¼ cup of sugar in a heavy bottom sauce pot. Cook over medium high heat until it starts to simmer.
- Combine the remaining sugar, corn starch, yolks and egg in a large bowl. Pour a quarter of the hot milk mixture into the bowl, whisking vigorously to prevent the eggs from scrambling. Repeat with remaining milk.
- Pour the entire mixture back into the sauce pot and cook over medium heat, stirring continuously until the mixture is very thick. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract.
- Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and allow it to cool for 5 minutes before covering with plastic wrap to cool completely. Press the plastic right onto the cream to prevent a skin from forming.
- Wash four apples, cut them in half and core out the center. Use a mandolin to slice the apples into very thin, 1/8 inch thick slices.
- Put slices in a glass bowl and squeeze ½ of a lemon on them. Toss to coat. Pour about ¼ cup of water in the bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Apples should be completely flexible but not soggy.
- To assemble the tart, spread the pastry cream into the tart shell in an even layer. Roll one slice of apple up tightly and press it cut-side down into the pastry cream. Layer more slices around it, red side up, to create petals for the rose. After about 8 slices, start on another rose. Fill in the gaps between the larger roses with smaller pieces of rolled up apple.
When you’re finished, the pastry cream should be completely covered with apple roses.
