This apple coffee cake is incredibly simple to make and tastes fantastic when done with Granny Smith apples and vanilla yogurt. I enjoy topping the yogurt with extra.
| Prep Time: | 45 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 5 mins |
| Servings: | 48 |
| Yield: | 48 tarts |
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened
- 2 ¼ cups chopped pitted dates
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Make the tart shells: Sift flour and confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Cut in butter, then knead until well blended. Form dough into forty-eight 3/4-inch balls. Place one ball into each cavity of two 24-cup mini muffin tins. Press balls into the bottom and up the sides of each cup to form a shell.
- Bake in the preheated oven until pale gold, about 16 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans. Use a knife to gently loosen and remove cooled tarts from the pan.
- While the tarts are baking, make the filling: Combine dates, water, brown sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; boil gently for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly and mashing dates with a fork as they cook. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Allow filling to cool.
- While the filling is cooling, make the icing: Cream butter in a small bowl with an electric mixer. Gradually add 1 cup confectioners’ sugar while continuing to mix. Add remaining sugar, milk, and maple extract; beat on high speed until smooth and thick enough to pipe. Spoon icing into a pastry bag fitted with a small round or star-shaped tip.
- Spoon filling into tart shells. Pipe a swirl of icing onto each tart.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 119 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 19 g |
| Cholesterol | 13 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 48 mg |
| Sugars | 14 g |
| Fat | 5 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Something fun to make. Easy recipe. Turned out great, my husband commented on the flaky crust. Definitely a one bite delight.. 🙂
Love the cookie pastry. I made those the day prior. The amounts of ingredients are perfect…no leftover filling or icing. I love dates…love maple…heaven in my mouth!
These were raved about. I did read a suggestion and did half orange juice half water and it was delicious. i also used some real maple syrup in the icing and them just a splash of the imitation extract. I did have a bad time with the pastry, it was too crumbly, sticky, didn’t work. I used anther pastry recipe and made sure to pike holes with a fork in the bottom so they didn’t pop up while cooking. I’ll be making these again.
My Christmas baking isn’t complete until I make these tarts. They’re so pretty, and everyone just loves them. I use a little wooden dough press dipped in flour to press the dough up the sides of the cups and it works like a charm. I do the icing a wee bit different: 2/3 cup sifted icing sugar, 2 tbsp maple syrup, and 1 tbsp butter. Divine!
I was looking for a different tart recipe when I stumbled across this. I made them in 2 inch muffin tins because that’s all I had. I made my own pastry it’s a recipe I use for all my pies. I made a double batch, the first batch was just exactly to recipe the second batch I added raisins. Judging by how fast they disappeared I would have to say a big thumbs up to this recipe.
I love this recipe. They are my favorite Christmas treat. My Mom made these and I have always loved them.
I always loved these little tarts and finally I can make my own. Thx so much for posting this recipe. They turned out amazing for my Christmas baking.
Good, but my icing turned out runny.
An excellent recipe. Quite a standard treat in this neck of the woods. I found that if I doubled the pastry recipe, then I can use up all filling and icing. Otherwise would not change a thing! A great Cape Breton treat!
LOVE THEM!!! I use this recipe every year at Christmas for a special treat. I cook the filling in the microwave on high for 6 min (stir at 3). You may need to adjust the time according to your microwave This is a must for your “Try it list”. I am sure it will quickly become a favorite.
When your not living in Cape Breton, every chance to eat something that is truely a Cape Breton Treat is a Treat. Thank you so very much for posting this recipe! Thank you to for bringing “CB” home! this Recipe is a perfect fit for my family. Thanks again
absolutely fabulous! and they are easier than they seem too.
Delicios! I made the pastry by adding 6 oz. cream cheese. I cooked the dates with orange juice instead of water. The maple frosting adds a nice touch! I wonder if my ancestors had something like this due to our connection to Cape Breton, as found by word of mouth in genealogy?
These were absolutely fantastic. I took them to a work Christmas potluck, and everyone loved them. I was a little hesitant to bring them at first, because they look so odd, but everyone commented on how unique they were. They are a lot of work to make, but definitely worth it. Thanks!