#14 Four-layered Apple Tart - With Recipe! Don't miss this one!

I baked this apple tart for the theme of Thanksgiving. We don't celebrate this day in China but I think we will soon...we've already been having Valentines' Day, Christmas and Halloween. And guess what, I received several 'Happy Thanksgiving' messages today!

At first I had no idea what Thanksgiving Day was about except a huge turkey shinning in my mind. Later I found that pumpkin pie is another necessity and so is apple tart. The one I made is definitely not a traditional one because it has four layers!

1st layer: crunchy shortbread
2nd layer: soft cream cheese
3rd layer: fragrant apple slices
4rd layer: roast almond chips

Only imaging these four layers in one apple tart has already made my mouth water! I really love this recipe because it takes less than 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to bake. This means, within an hour, you can enjoy this delicious tart!

OK, here's the recipe! Are you excited? ;)

Ingredients (for a 6'' cake tin):
100g cold unsalted butter
2 apples (I use royal gala)
1/4 tsp salt
150g cream cheese at room temp
105g plain flour
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon juice
20g caster sugar
1/3 tsp ground cinnamon
20g sugar A
20g sugar B
1 egg
35g almond chips

Steps:
1. Preheat the oven at 230℃; put a piece of parchment paper at the bottom of the cake tin and oil the rest of the cake tin
2. Mix the flour, salt and sugar; put in the butter and knead them till a rough dough (you don't need to knead the dough smooth)
3. Put the dough in the tin and make it cover the bottom and put it in the fridge - this is the first layer
4. Soften the cream cheese and add sugar A, the egg and vanilla extract; beat the cheese till it's smooth (don't over beat!)
5. Pour the cream cheese paste in the cake tin, make it flat and put back to the fridge - this is the second layer
6. Pare the apples and cut into small pieces, add in some lemon juice to avoid oxidization; mix sugar B and ground cinnamon with the apple slices and put them on the cheese layer evenly - this is the third layer
7. Spread almond chips over the apple layer - and this is the last layer!
8. Put the tart in oven and bake 10 mins at 230℃; then turn down the temp to 200℃ and bake for another 30 mins (you can take it out early if the surface turns golden
9. Cool it down and remove it from the cake tin. Tadaaa! I recommend to eat it after refrigerating a few hours, but you can also enjoy it warm and soft! 

So...Thanksgiving. At the end, I would like to thank my dad and mom. I miss you, really.
Also happy Thanksgiving to all my friends. 
And you.
:)

Photo by Serena