Warmly spiced apple & walnut crumble tarts with miso butterscotch ice cream, topped with warm, salty-sweet miso butterscotch sauce. Jump to Recipe 

Before we start, I want you to keep in mind that this is one of those recipes. Those rare dishes where it would be impossible to stop at one taste, one bite – where trying to share would devolve into an all out war of who could eat the fastest. Each mouthful is a riot of contrasts – cool and creamy meets crisp and warm, salty and savoury meets rich and sweet. You could eat it over and over. Maybe I was overtired from a big baking weekend (did you see that 6 layer 21st cake?!), but the moment of realisation, of achievement, of thinking ‘this is it’, was as exhilarating as winning a race – efforts rewarded.

You know what I mean.

Right now I’m enjoying my first proper moment of stillness since this time last week. The aforementioned baking frenzy (which also included this passionfruit coconut meringue bars and this pear, beetroot and walnut salad with a homemade loaf of ciabatta) and late nights out left me feeling almost jet-lagged with exhaustion. The eight hours at the hospital yesterday were serious struggle-town (though I did manage to scrub in and assist with a mastectomy, if you can call holding retractors assisting).

This new peacefulness has arrived in the form of an extra-hot takeaway flat white from the local cafe, a piece of that passionfruit slice, and a seat on the slouchy soft couch in the sun, computer propped up in my lap. A few hours of blogging time before afternoon lectures!

I think part of the problem is that I have a tendency to overestimate my time. I plan my day as if I somehow expect an extra hour or two to squeeze in there around 2pm, or as if I can do everything at 1.5x speed. It’s either unrealistic optimism or plain stupidity. I must get it from my Dad – Mum always mentally adds an hour to whenever he says he’ll be back from a bike ride for a much more accurate ETA. The girls I live with have learnt the same – that often (not always, but often) my dinner making runs late – 630pm will be 7pm, 7 will be 730. My bedtime does the same. Everything takes a little bit longer than my frontal cortex, that centre for executive functioning, predicts. Research suggests that the brain doesn’t full mature until about age 25, however, and until this time the prefrontal cortex isn’t fully wired up, or myelinated, so doesn’t work as efficiently – though I could say that’s why, I probably just need to set more realistic goals!

But back to these Apple & Walnut Crumble Tarts with Miso Butterscotch Ice Cream. It’s like your childhood apple crumble on steroids. Revamped and rejuvenated, the sort of dessert you could be served at a restaurant and walk away already planning your next trip back. The night after I made it, the winning dessert on Masterchef included a miso caramel component which was labelled “genius” by the judges – a spark of pride and a hint of satisfaction hit, though I wished I could impress them with my version.

It is a crisp, buttery short pastry, topped with thinly sliced layers of tender, cinnamon spiced apple. A golden brown, nutty walnut crumble adorns it, taking the place of a pie crust and allowing the apple to cook thoroughly underneath. The ice cream is melt-in-your-mouth smooth, rippled with streams of unami-salty-sweet miso butterscotch, and gently flows in small rivulets amongst the crumble. Finished off with a final stream of warm miso caramel sauce, swirling in with the ice cream and dripping in small pools on the plate – it is the ultimate apple dessert.

You can see in the photos that I couldn’t help but start sampling one as I went – it was tough to hold back from finishing off the whole thing immediately! And with a little forward planning, it actually doesn’t take too long. Did I mention that it is a no churn ice cream recipe? 15 minutes and straight in the freezer. A few notes on timing are below.

PS. Has anyone seasoned a new wok before? I had a go with mine this morning, but wasn’t sure how much smoke was supposed to be produced, or how brown-black it should go. I used ginger and spring onion to try to get rid of that metallic taint, but any other advice would be welcome!

PPS. A big thank you to Mozi for the white textured plates! 

Baker’s Notes: 

• The recipe makes 6-8 individual tarts. You could also make one larger tart – keep in mind that it might take a bit longer to cook, however.
•  Timetable:
  • The day before: make the miso butterscotch (15min) and the no churn ice cream (15min).
  • Either the day before, or on the day: make the pastry and refrigerate (15min), make the apple filling (15min), and make the walnut crumble (15 min).
  • On the day: line the tart tins, put the tarts together, bake (1 hour).
  • Serve with the ice cream and leftover butterscotch sauce.

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