Miso Caramel Apple Tart
White miso whisked into warm cream turns a standard caramel savory-sweet without seizing — the miso dissolves into the dairy instead of clumping, so the sauce stays glossy and pours clean. That miso caramel works twice here: brushed over the blind-baked crust so the apples sit in a salty-sweet layer, then drizzled over the finished tart. A hickory-smoked crumb scattered over the fruit adds the faint campfire edge that makes the swalty finish read as intentional.
Dessert · Fall, Apple, Baking • 1 hr 50 min
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 1¼ cups (160g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (30g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 –2 tablespoons ice water
- For the miso caramel:
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (80ml) water
- ¾ cup (180ml) heavy cream, warmed
- 2 tablespoons white miso (shiro)
- 5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- For the apples:
- 5 medium apples (about 2 pounds), a mix of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp, peeled, cored, and sliced ¼-inch thick
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- For the hickory-miso crumb:
- ½ cup (65g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50g) packed light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- 1 teaspoon warm water
- ¼ teaspoon hickory liquid smoke
- 4 tablespoons (57g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- For assembly:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- Flaky sea salt, for finishing
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Steps
- Make the crust: Pulse the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add the cold butter and pulse in 1-second bursts until the mixture looks like coarse sand, 8–10 pulses. Add the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon ice water and pulse just until the dough clumps when squeezed, adding up to 1 more tablespoon of water if dry. Turn out, press into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days).
- Make the miso caramel: In a small bowl, whisk the white miso into the warm cream until completely dissolved; set aside. In a medium heavy saucepan, stir the sugar and water over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the syrup turns deep amber, 8–10 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully whisk in the butter until melted. Gradually stream in the miso-cream mixture (it will bubble up) and whisk until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and flaky salt. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and let cool until just warm; it thickens as it sits.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a 12-inch circle about ⅛-inch thick. Ease it into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, pressing it into the corners and trimming the overhang. Prick the bottom all over with a fork and freeze for 15 minutes.
- Line the chilled crust with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Blind bake for 15 minutes, then remove the parchment and weights and bake until the bottom is dry and pale golden, 5–7 minutes more. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes.
- Make the crumb: In a small bowl, whisk the miso with the warm water and liquid smoke to form a thin paste. Stir this into the flour, brown sugar, and salt until the miso is distributed in small streaks, then cut in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture forms clumpy crumbs. Refrigerate.
- Make the filling: In a large bowl, toss the apple slices with the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and lemon juice until evenly coated.
- Spread ⅓ cup of the miso caramel over the bottom of the par-baked crust. Arrange the apple slices in overlapping concentric circles, pressing gently to fill any gaps, and mound any remaining slices in the center. Dot with the 2 tablespoons of butter.
- Scatter the crumb evenly over the apples. Bake for 45–55 minutes, until the apples are tender when pierced with a paring knife, the juices are bubbling, and the crumb is deep golden. If the crumb browns too fast, tent loosely with foil after 35 minutes.
- Let the tart cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before unmolding. Rewarm the remaining miso caramel until pourable and drizzle over the top, then finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Tips & Variations
Make Ahead
Make the crust up to 2 days ahead (refrigerate) or freeze it for up to a month. The miso caramel keeps in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to a week — rewarm gently before drizzling. The crumb can be mixed and refrigerated up to 2 days ahead. Assemble and bake the day of serving for the crispest crust.
Storage
Cover the cooled tart loosely with foil and store at room temperature for up to 1 day, or refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat slices in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes to re-crisp the crust and warm the caramel. Serve at room temperature or gently warmed.
Substitutions
Pears substitute one-for-one for the apples, or use a pear-apple mix. Use red or brown miso for a deeper, saltier caramel — start with 1½ tablespoons, since they're stronger than white miso. No hickory liquid smoke? Smoked flaky salt in the crumb and on the finish gives a similar campfire note, or leave it out for a pure miso-caramel tart. For a gluten-free tart, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend in both the crust and the crumb.
Reviews
Reviews coming soon! In the meantime, let us know what you think of this recipe.
