When I first started this blog the very first item I mentioned was Tarte Tatin. However I hadn’t anticipated doing a blog when I first tried the recipe, so I had no photograph to post. I did promise to make it again, at some time and then post a photo.
So today I did just that, I made another tarte tatin. As I said in my first post, this recipe doesn’t use puff pastry. It uses a shortcrust type pastry, but with a twist. The pastry is frozen and then shredded, or grated onto the apples.
So when it cooks the pastry is more like a crumble, or a cake, topped with the gorgeous, caramel coated apple.
This latest version has turned out very well indeed, and tastes wonderful. I hope you will try the recipe, it is well worth the effort.
The recipe I followed, with some additional comments, is below:
Ingredients
- 320g/11oz plain flour
- 225g/8oz ice-cold butter
- 110g/4oz icing sugar
- 3 free-range egg yolks
- 6 Braeburn apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8-12 wedges. You can use other firm apples such as Cox’s, but I just love Braeburns
- ¼ lemon
- 110g/4oz caster sugar
- 110g/4oz butter
- double cream or vanilla ice cream
- Preheat the oven to 250C/500F/Gas 9.
- First, make the pastry. In a food processor, mix the flour, butter and icing sugar just until they resemble breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and, using the pulse button, mix until it comes together in a dough. Note: I didn’t have a food processor, so I crumbed the flour, butter and icing sugar between my fingertips. Then when I achieved the breadcrumb state I added the other ingredients and mixed together.
- Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and divide into two pieces. Wrap in clingfilm and put in the freezer to chill for at least an hour.
- For the filling, place the apple wedges in a bowl, squeeze the lemon juice over them and toss them gently.
- Sprinkle 3/4 of the sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan and place on the hob over a medium heat, turning the pan frequently and making sure the sugar doesn’t burn. Allow the sugar to caramelise a little and become a pale golden brown, then remove from the heat and arrange the drained apple pieces in one layer over the bottom of the pan. Note: do not be tempted to stir the sugar at all, or it will start to crystalise. You can add just a little water at the start if you wish to help the sugar dissove.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake until the apples have softened a bit and started to release some liquid – about 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle over the remaining sugar and dot the butter on top. Remove the pastry from the freezer and, using the coarse side of a cheese grater, grate the pastry with long steady strokes over the apples until it forms an even layer at least 2.5cm/1 inch thick. Do not press down. Return to the oven, turn the heat down to 220C/425F/Gas 7 and bake until the pastry is golden brown – about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for a minute or two.
- Take a heatproof serving dish that is generously larger than the pan on all sides and place over the pan. Protecting your hands with a dry folded tea-towel, and holding the dish and pan firmly together, quickly and carefully flip the pan and the dish so that the pan is on top. Tap the pan sharply a few times all round with a wooden spoon, then lift off. The tart should be left on the serving dish with the apple on top.
- Serve warm with double cream, or vanilla ice cream.