Classic apple pie filling in a flakey tart pastry crust with notes of cinnamon, allspice and cloves drizzled in easy, homemade caramel sauce.

This Caramel Apple Tart recipe is sponsored by Dixie Crystals. All thoughts and opinions remain my own and I am proud to partner with brands I know and trust. Thanks for supporting the growth of Miss Allie’s Kitchen.
Every year when I was a little girl my dad would take me to The Devon Horse Show. I’ve ridden since the age of 5, and it was always our special thing to do together. We still go today, usually in a larger group, but those first few years were just the two of us.
We’d sit up in the stands, watch whatever event was happening that day, and then mosey around all of the fair vendors. After a long day “talking shop” and expelling all of my horsey wisdom on my dad, we’d go back to my favorite little cotton candy and candy apple cart.
I’d order this GIANT caramel apple the size of my head. I’d spend a few minutes trying to knaw my way through the thick caramel coating to take a chomp out of the crisp, tart apple. It. Was. Delicious.
I get a craving for these apples every once in a while, and that’s when I thought of it. Why not cover my favorite apple pie filling in caramel sauce? I thought a tart would be fun because they’re just so gorgeous. It’s easy to make them beautiful and slip them right out of the pan.

I used Dixie Crystals Sugar to create a rich and silky caramel sauce from scratch. Wait until you see how easy it is to do! I’ll show you how below. I love using Dixie Crystals and I started using their products when they were kind enough to donate to the Cookies for Kid’s Cancer campaign I was a part of. I love their sugar because their products are 100% pure cane sugar, all-natural, & non-GMO.
You guys know I never shy away from treats in moderation but it’s got to be the real stuff, you know?
Now, let’s talk more about this tart.

What’s in a Caramel Apple Tart?
This caramel apple tart has layers of fresh apples – I used Granny Smith – skin on, sliced thin. Apple pie spice, Dixie Crystals granulated sugar, lemon juice and tapioca starch (or cornstarch) mixed in with apples.
This all gets baked into my classic pastry dough. That recipe makes 2 crusts, so be sure to set one aside and freeze it for later.
The caramel is just this – Dixie Crystal granulated sugar, water, sea salt, heavy cream, and butter. That’s all! More on that in a minute.

How do you make the apples into a pretty design?
It’s really fun to do a neat spiral design with the apples and it’s was easier than it looks. First, take the pieces that are a little big or a little small and lay them on the bottom of the tart shell. They’ll be your base layer.
Then, starting from the outside layer, lay similar-sized apple slices on top of each other. Then, do another row in the middle, overlapping on top of the outside row. That’s all!
How do you make homemade caramel sauce?
This is VERY easy and I’ll provide specific instruction in the recipe printout. But really all you do is simmer sugar, water and sea salt for around 2 minutes until it turns golden brown. Then, you add cream and butter et voila! I’m not kidding!

Love apple pie? Check out this recipe for lattice top apple pie!
In other news, Dixie Crystals is running their annual Scary Scramble Contest for Halloween from October 13-20th. Each day they post a scrambled recipe title and you have to search the site and find the recipe. 25 winners receive a prize! Check out this page for details!


Caramel Apple Tart
Classic apple pie filling in a flakey tart pastry crust with notes of cinnamon, allspice and cloves drizzled in easy, homemade caramel sauce.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked pie crust – here’s my recipe that makes 2 crusts
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 3 large or 4 small appled, cored and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup Dixie Crystals granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp. tapioca starch or cornstarch
- 1 and 1/2 tsp. apple pie spice
For the caramel:
- 1 cup Dixie Crystals granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 4 Tbsp. butter
Instructions
To make the tart:
- If you’re making your own crust, go ahead and do so and set the dough in the fridge to chill and rest for 30 minutes before rolling it out while you make the filling.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Add the lemon juice to a large bowl.
- Core and thinly slice the apples and add them to the bowl with the lemon juice, tossing them so they don’t brown.
- Add the sugar, tapioca/cornstarch, and apple pie spice to the apples and mix well so all of the apples are coated.
- Roll out the pie crust and place it into a tart pan, trimming the edges.
- Arrange the apple slices in the tart however you like and make sure to pour the juices from the filling into the tart pan.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the apples are soft. If the apples start to burn at the tips, cover the pie with foil.
- Remove the pie from the oven and cool on a wire rack before serving.
To make the caramel sauce:
- Add the sugar, water and, salt to a saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium heat – make sure you’re using a burner that’s smaller than the saucepan so that the flames are underneath the pot. This prevents the caramel from burning on the edges.
- Let the sugar dissolve into the pan, this will take about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the sugar is dissolved and the mixture starts bubbling, STOP STIRRING* and turn the heat down to medium-low. Let the sugar bubble for another 4-5 minutes until you start to see a golden brown color all over the pan (it should look like caramel)*.
- IMMEDIATELY remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and cream. This will bubble up but that’s it! You’re done!
To serve:
- Remove the tart from the tart shell and drizzle on about 1/2-3/4 of the caramel sauce (save the rest for later!).
- Slice & serve!
Notes
- You don’t want to stir the caramel once boiling because it loosens bits that may have stuck to the pan and burnt, giving your caramel a burnt flavor.
- If one side of the pan is hotter and starts to brown more quickly, remove the pan from the heat when it’s a dark golden, even if the other side isn’t too deep in color yet. This will prevent burning.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 246
- Sugar: 16 g
- Sodium: 281 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 29 mg
Keywords: tart, pie, pastry, apple, caramel
Can this tasty treat be made ahead of time?