Craving the perfect bite-sized dessert? These Apple Crumble Tartlets combine a buttery, crisp shortcrust pastry, a sweet cinnamon-spiced apple filling, and a golden oat crumble topping. Perfect for fall, these mini tarts are easy to make, beautifully rustic, and bursting with cozy flavors.
Whether you serve them warm with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with caramel, or paired with a cup of tea, these tartlets are sure to impress! In this guide, I’ll show you step-by-step instructions, pro baking tips, and delicious variations so you can bake these effortlessly at home.
Let’s get started!
Quick Start: How to Make Apple Crumble Tartlets in 5 Steps
1️⃣ Cook the Apple Filling – Peel, dice, and cook apples with cinnamon, sugar, and cornflour until softened. Let cool.
2️⃣ Prepare the Pastry – Pulse flour, butter, egg yolk, and water in a food processor until it forms a dough. Roll out and chill.
3️⃣ Blind Bake the Tart Shells – Line with foil, fill with sugar, and bake to prevent shrinkage.
4️⃣ Make the Crumble – Mix oats, flour, brown sugar, and melted butter for a crunchy topping.
5️⃣ Assemble & Bake – Fill tart shells with apples, top with crumble, and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
✨ For expert tips, ingredient swaps, and storage hacks, keep reading below!
Why Make These Apple Crumble Tartlets
- Simple to make and delicious!
- Great for a snack or can be elevated into a dessert with the addition of some ice cream!
- Fun to make – especially with kids
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter – this is used to make the shortcrust pastry cases, along with plain flour
- Apples – you could substitute other fruits in this recipe and use different types of apples. Pink Lady apples are my favourite so I have used those but Granny Smith apples and bramley apples are also popular and easy to find. Use your favourite fresh apples, you could use a mix of tart apples and sweet apples for the tart apple filling
- Cornflour – to thicken the juices from the apples
- Cinnamon – apples and cinnamon are a classic combo but you could try other spices, adding some nutmeg or cloves.
- Jumbo Oats – I like my crumble topping quite rustic and chunky so I have used jumbo oats but any rolled oats will work.
- Vanilla extract – for extra flavour in the apple mixture
Equipment
- 4-inch diameter loose-bottomed fluted tart tins (4)
- Food processor
- Large mixing bowl
- Frying pan/small saucepan
- Wooden spoon
- Rolling pin
- Pastry brush
- Apple corer/paring knife
How To Make Apple Crumble Tartlets
Apple Crumble Tarts Filling
- Peel and core the apples using a knife and apple corer, then cut into a small dice.
- Gently cook with the ground cinnamon, sugar and cornstarch over medium heat until thick and softened
- Let cool completely before adding to the tart shells
Tart Shells
- Tart Crust – To make the shortcrust, add the all purpose flour or plain flour, small pieces of diced butter, egg yolk, icing sugar and a little water to a food processor and pulse until the dough comes together and you get a cohesive dough. Portion into 4 equal pieces and roll out then immediately line the tart tins. The shells I make are 4 inches in diameter. Roll out with your rolling pin on a lightly floured work surface, line each tart pan with either aluminum foil or parchment paper and blind bake until golden brown before adding the fruit and crumble topping. Use the sugar method for lining your shortcrust for blind baking like I do to prevent shrinkage instead of pie weights.
The Best Way To Make A Crumble Topping
- Use Melted butter – the traditional way is to rub the cold butter into the flour in a large bowl with your hands to make your crumble mix. I find that this way is quite easy to end up with a very even crumble. For these tarts I wanted a rougher crumb topping with some rough edges so adding melted butter allows the crumble to clump up in unequal sizes and create that rough texture. Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients and stir to create the crunchy crumble topping. I like to use brown sugar in the crumble mix for extra flavour.
Once each tartlet tin is lined and filled with apples and topped with the crumble they are ready to bake. This should take around 20-25 minutes at 180°C.
Variations & Tips
- Chill the pastry dough thoroughly for easier handling and a flakier crust.
- Pre-cook the apple filling to ensure it’s perfectly tender and to prevent excess moisture in the tartlets.
- For a crunchier topping, pre-bake the crumble mixture on a separate tray for 5 minutes before adding it to the tartlets.
- Use a variety of apples for a more complex flavour profile – mix tart Granny Smith with sweeter varieties like Gala or Honeycrisp.
- Nutty Crumble: Add chopped almonds or pecans to the crumble topping for extra crunch.
- Spice it Up: Experiment with different spices like nutmeg, allspice, or cardamom in the apple filling.
- Fruity Twist: Replace half the apples with pears or add a handful of fresh berries to the filling.
- Gluten-Free Option: Use gluten-free flour and oats to make these tartlets suitable for gluten-sensitive individuals.
- Vegan Version: Substitute butter with vegan margarine and use plant-based milk in the pastry.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
- Drizzle with warm caramel sauce for something extra
- Pair with a dollop of whipped cream or crème fraîche
- Enjoy with a cup of hot apple cider or tea
Storage
- Store cooled tartlets in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerate for up to 5 days for maximum freshness.
- Freeze baked tartlets for up to 3 months. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in a freezer-safe container.
- To reheat, warm in a preheated 150°C (300°F) oven for 10-15 minutes until heated through.
FAQ’s
Use good quality butter, and melt it instead of rubbing it in to create a rougher texture in your crumble. Also, add oats for extra crispness and crunch.
Apple Crumble Tartlets
Ingredients
- For the pastry
- 150 g plain flour
- 95 g unsalted butter
- 55 g icing sugar
- 1 large egg yolk keep white for brushing tart cases
- 1 tbsp water
- For the Filling
- 2 pink lady apples
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 50 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanulla extract
- Crumble Topping
- 55 g plain flour
- 20 g jumbo oats
- 25 g soft brown sugar
- 45 g unsalted butter
Instructions
- Begin By peeling and coring the apples.
- Cut them into a fine dice then cook on a medium heat for 5 -10 minutes along with the sugar, cinnamon and cornflour until the mixture thickens and the apples have softened. Cover and leave to cool.
- To make the shortcrust, add the flour, butter, egg yolk and water to a food processor and pulse until the dough comes together and you get a cohesive dough. Portion into 4 equal pieces and roll out then immediately line the tart tins.
- When the tart tins are lined, run the rolling pin over the top to create a neat pastry case. Chill for 2 hours
- For the crumble – mix all the dry ingredients together and then melt the butter. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and stir until combined and a crumble is formed. Let cool until assembly.
- When ready to bake the cases, line with tin foil and fill with caster sugar right up to the edge. This prevents shrinking. Blind bake at 140°C for 30 minutes then remove the foil and sugar, brush inside with egg white (stops cases going soggy with the filling) then return for 5 minutes to set.
- Add the apple filling to the cases, top with the crumble mix and return to the oven at 180°C for 20 -25 minutes until golden and crisp
- Let cool in the tins for 10 minutes before removing and serving warm.
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Hi, I’m Paul! I’m a passionate home chef, recipe developer, and food lover who believes that cooking should be fun, rewarding, and stress-free! Through Scoffs & Feasts, I share my favorite tried-and-tested recipes, cooking tips, and troubleshooting advice to help home cooks gain confidence in the kitchen. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced foodie, I hope my recipes inspire you to try something new.