Name: Granny Smith Apple Tart
Ingredients: 1 refrigerated fill-and-bake pie crust (7 to 7½ oz); 3 large Granny Smith apples (about 1½ lb total), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced; 2 tsp fresh lemon juice; ¼ cup packed brown sugar (Consider substituting your favorite sweetener for the brown sugar.); ¼ cup sour half-and-half, or ¼ cup non-fat sour cream; 1 tbsp quick-cooking tapioca; 1½ tsp ground cinnamon; 2 tsp granulated sugar (Consider substituting your favorite sweetener for the sugar.)

Why it works: Apple and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,598 recipes. Both carry methyl cinnamate, which smells strawberry. The science ↓

Granny Smith Apple Tart

8 slices

Oven350°F

Time35 minutes

Ingredients

1 refrigerated fill-and-bake pie crust (7 to 7½ oz)
3 large Granny Smith apples (about 1½ lb total), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
¼ cup packed brown sugar (Consider substituting your favorite sweetener for the brown sugar.)
¼ cup sour half-and-half, or ¼ cup non-fat sour cream
1 tbsp quick-cooking tapioca
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp granulated sugar (Consider substituting your favorite sweetener for the sugar.)

Directions

Prepare the shell

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Put the pie crust into a 9-inch-diameter tart pan with a removable bottom.
Press the crust against the fluted edge.
Trim off any pastry that extends over the top.
Roll the trimmed dough into a ball.
Flatten the dough to ¼ inch.
Cut 2 or 3 shapes with a cookie cutter.
Prick the tart shell in several places with the tines of a fork.

Make the filling

Put the sliced apples in a large bowl.
Drizzle them with lemon juice. Toss to mix.
In a small bowl, blend the brown sugar, sour half-and-half, tapioca, and cinnamon.
Fold the brown sugar mixture into the apples until all the fruit is coated.
Spoon the apples into the tart shell.

Bake and serve

Arrange the dough shapes on top of the apples.
Sprinkle granulated sugar over the top.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until the apples are tender.
Cut in 8 equal slices.
Serve hot or at room temperature.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

262Calories

18 gProtein

1 gFat

50 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Pie Crust	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,598 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,950 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together30,779 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,551 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Granny smith apples: Provide the bulk of the filling, which softens and turns tender as the tart bakes.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and caramel-like flavor while moistening the apples as they bake.
Sour half-and-half: Adds tangy richness and moisture to the filling, balancing the sweetness of the sugar.
Quick-cooking tapioca: Thickens the juices released by the apples so the filling sets rather than running.
Fresh lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the apple flavor and helps slow browning of the cut fruit.

The step that matters

Coat the apples evenly with the sugar mixture. Tapioca only thickens the juices it contacts, so uneven coating can leave pockets of watery filling and dry spots. Thorough folding distributes starch and sugar so the juices thicken evenly as the apples bake.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, sugar, cream, cinnamon):

Vanillafits better
Pearfits better
Figfits better
Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against apple, sugar, cream, cinnamon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Apple Pudding256 recipes

Lemon Cake228 recipes

Lemon Ice147 recipes

Lemon Sherbet103 recipes

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Granny Smith Apple Tart