Tarte Tatin: upside down apple tart
Ingredients
plain flour, for dusting
500g puff pastry
5 small eating apples
100g golden brown sugar
100ml brandy
1 vanilla pod, halved lengthways, seeds scraped out
50g butter, cubed
Tools
To make Tarte Tatin you need a frying pan that can be put straight into the oven from the hob. For this recipe shoot, we used the Le Creuset 3 Ply Stainless Steel Non-Stick 28cm Fry Pan which is a fine and trusty vessel. You’ll also need a rolling pin, board and the usual knife, measuring spoons etc.
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 190˚C.
2. Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour and roll out your puff pastry until it’s just over 0.5cm thick. This will be enough to cover the ovenproof frying pan you’ll be cooking the tart in, leaving about 5cm extra around the edge. Put the pastry to one side for now.
3. Peel and core your apples, then halve them horizontally.
4. Put the nonstick ovenproof pan on a medium heat and add the sugar, brandy, vanilla seeds and pod. Let the sugar dissolve and cook until the mixture forms a light caramel. Just remember never ever to touch or taste hot caramel, as it can burn really badly.
5. Once the caramel looks and smells delicious – it should be a lovely chestnut brown – add your halved apples. Carefully stir everything in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until the apples start to soften and you get a toffee apple vibe happening. Add the cubed butter.
6. Lay the pastry over the top and then quickly and carefully tuck the pastry down right into the edges – it’s best to use a wooden spoon so you don’t touch the caramel (unless you’re feeling brave).
7. Bake the tarte tatin for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden, with crispy caramelly pieces bubbling up from under the edges then take it out of the oven.
To make it look like a Tarte Tatin you need to turn it out, which isn’t hard – but you do need to be careful with that hot caramel. Get a serving plate or board larger than your pan and put an oven glove on to protect the arm holding the board. Put the board or plate on top of the pan, then quickly, carefully and confidently turn it out.
Put it to one side for a few minutes so the caramel can cool down then divide it up and serve with a spoonful of crème fraîche, ice cream or Crème anglaise (here’s a recipe for Crème anglaise).
Written by Marina Pape
Marina is Yuppiechef's community manager and spends her time having ideas, writing copy, recording the happenings around Yuppiechef HQ and scheming up ways to have fun. View more articles by Marina Pape.
