Apple Cream Cheese Brioche Tartlets

These sweet little brioche tartlets get their signature fluffy height from Platinum Yeast. Each tartlet serves up a generous helping of festive fall flavors with a dollop of spiced cream cheese filling and a fan of perfectly ripe Honeycrisp apple slices straight from the orchard.

Apple Cream Cheese Brioche Tartlets Video Tutorial

Watch video above for step-by-step shaping tutorial. Scroll down for printable recipe.

See Apple Cream Cheese Tart recipe and video for detailed dough-making step-by-step tutorial.

After dough has risen, divide into 9 equal pieces. Then shape and let rise again.

Layer tartlets with cream cheese filling, top with apples.

Add egg wash and sprinkle pearl sugar on crust edge. Then it’s time to bake!

Finish these tartlets off by brushing a light coating of apple or apricot jam over the warm apples. It adds a beautiful shine and nice burst of flavor.

Serve with a cup of coffee or tea. Enjoy!

Apple Cream Cheese Brioche Tartlets

These sweet little brioche tartlets get their signature fluffy height from Platinum Yeast. Each tartlet serves up a generous helping of festive fall flavors with a dollop of spiced cream cheese filling and a fan of perfectly ripe Honeycrisp apple slices straight from the orchard.

Yield 9 tartlets

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Ingredients

Apples

• 45 (1/4-inch thick) slices (205g) Honeycrisp apples (about 2 medium apples)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (6g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoons (1.25g) fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon apple pie spice

Dough

• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (18g) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (21g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 (0.25oz) package (7g) Platinum Yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (4.5g) kosher salt
• 1/4 cup (60g) warm whole milk (120°F/49°C to 130°F/54°C)
• 2 large (100g) eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon (3g) vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup (57g) unsalted butter, softened

Filling

• 1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon (12g) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon (14g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon (2g) vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon apple pie spice
• 4 ounces (113g) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 large (19g) egg yolk, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon (8g) all-purpose flour

Topping / Finishing

• 1 large (50g) egg (for egg wash)
• 1 tablespoon (15g) water (for egg wash)
• Swedish pearl sugar, for sprinkling
• Apple jelly or apricot preserves, optional (see Notes¹)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• For apples: In a large bowl, stir together apples, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and pie spice. Let stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spread apple mixture in an even layer on prepared pan.
• Bake until apples are fork-tender and have released significant moisture, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating pan and stirring halfway through baking. (Apples will be slightly reduced in size but should still retain their shape.) Let cool on pan on a wire rack.
• For dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat 1/2 cup (62g) flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, yeast, and salt at medium-low speed until combined. Add warm milk, eggs, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. With mixer on low speed, gradually add remaining 1 1/2 cups (188g) flour, beating just until combined.
• Switch to the dough hook attachment. Beat at low speed until dough is relatively smooth, elastic, and starts to pull away from sides of bowl, 6 to 9 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl and dough hook. Add butter, 1 tablespoon (14g) at a time, beating until combined after each addition (6 to 8 minutes total); scrape sides of bowl and dough hook. (Dough may look slightly broken during this process but will come together.) Increase mixer speed to medium-low; beat until a smooth, elastic dough forms, about 6 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl and dough hook. (Dough should pass the windowpane test; see Notes².)
• Turn out dough onto a clean surface; knead 4 to 5 times. Shape into a smooth round. Place dough in a large ungreased bowl; cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) until doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour. (See Notes³.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Punch down dough; cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Turn out dough onto a clean surface and divide into 9 portions (about 54g each). Gently shape each portion into a smooth ball, pinching any seams to seal and covering with plastic wrap while working with remaining dough.
• Press or roll each dough ball into a 3½-inch-wide round; place 1½ to 2 inches apart on prepared pans. (Dough rounds may shrink slightly.) Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) until puffed and dough holds an indentation when poked, about 25 minutes.
• For filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and pie spice by hand until well combined. Using the paddle attachment, gradually add cream cheese, beating at medium speed until smooth. Add egg yolk; beating until combined. Beat in flour until smooth and well combined, stopping to scrape sides of bowl.
• Using a floured 1/4-cup glass jar, make a 2¼-inch-wide, ¼- to ½-inch-deep well in center of each dough round. (See Notes⁴.) Divide filling among dough rounds (about 4 teaspoons or 17g each), spreading to fill evenly. Arrange apples on top of filling as desired. (Discard or save any leftover apple slices as a snack.)
• In a small bowl, whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon (15g) water. Brush outer edge of dough with egg wash, and sprinkle with pearl sugar.
• Bake, one batch at a time, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating pan once halfway through baking. Serve warm or at room temperature. Brush apple slices with jelly or preserves (if using) before serving.

Notes

1. To give apple slices extra glisten once baked, microwave 1 tablespoon (20g) apple jelly or apricot preserves on high in 10-second intervals until melted and loose; brush onto apple slices just before serving.
2. To use the windowpane test to check dough for proper gluten development, lightly flour hands and pinch off (don’t tear) a small piece of dough. Slowly pull the dough out from the center. If the dough is ready, you will be able to stretch it until it’s thin and translucent like a windowpane. If the dough tears, it’s not quite ready. Beat for 1 minute, and test again.
3. After the first rise, this dough can be punched down and refrigerated for 1 to 4 hours or up to overnight, punching it down a few times to start, as needed. Refrigerating the dough can break up the bread-making timeline and make it easier to handle later.
4. If you don’t have a 1/4-cup glass jar, you can also use a 2¼-inch-wide 1/3-cup dry measuring cup or even just your fingertips to make wells in dough rounds.

PRO TIP: Toss your apple spices in your other favorite warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. For the filling, forgo the apple pie spice and use orange or lemon zest instead for a subtle citrusy twist.

 

Recipe by Brian Hart Hoffman

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Brian Hart Hoffman
Editor-in-Chief, Bake from Scratch

Brian Hart Hoffman is the editor-in-chief of Bake from Scratch and made his way to baking through his love for travel and a previous career as a flight attendant. After years of traveling, stopping in bakeries all over the world, and returning home with a mission to recreate the baked goods he fell in love with, he took that same passion and launched a brand dedicated to the celebration of the global baking community. Bake from Scratch has grown into one of the world’s largest baking platforms, with magazines and best-selling cookbooks, a podcast (The Crumb), in-person baking retreats, and @thebakefeed on Instagram, where there are hours of Brian’s baking video content. Brian is a frequent guest on television shows all over the country and has appeared on Today, Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family, and is currently hosting Williams Sonoma’s Baking School with weekly online classes. His mission to bake the world a better place brings frequent efforts to end childhood hunger in partnership with No Kid Hungry and other hunger relief organizations.