Apple Tarte Tatin – Easy Recipe, is exactly that. A really lovely tarte with caramelised apples and puff pastry. Tarte Tatin is a classic French dessert. Usually it is made with apples, but other fruits and vegetables can be used too. Pears, plum, onions etc are quite often used. But for my recipe I wanted an apple version.
The recipe is very simple with not too many ingredients. Apples, butter, sugar and puff pastry is all you need. A little spice or seasoning is a good addition too.
Shop bought puff pastry works well for this tart. Particularly if you can find an ‘all butter’ puff pastry. Of course you can also make your own puff pastry, but that will make the process much longer and more complicated.
Apples
How many apples required will depend size, but between 5 and 8 will be enough. The type of apple is a matter of personal preference. I like to use Braeburn or Royal Gala, as they hold the texture well and have a great flavour. Granny Smith apples also work well, and give a more tart flavour. But use the variety you prefer.
I used a shop bought ‘all butter’ puff pastry which came in sheet form. I cut the sheet to be a disc, larger than the diameter of my pan.
The process is easy too. Simply place the butter and sugar into a 9 inch/23cm oven proof pan, with spices if using, and arrange quartered apples on the top. Place the pan on a medium to high heat and cook until the butter and sugar have dissolved and cooked into a lovely sweet caramel. That process will take about ten minutes. It can take longer to get a thick caramel, if lots of juice is released from the apples.
Once the caramel has been created the puff pastry is laid over the apples and tucked in around the edge. Then the tarte is baked in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the pastry has turned a lovely golden brown.
When the tarte is removed from the oven it should be left for about 5 minutes before being turned over, onto a serving plate. Care must be taken when doing that, since the pan and the tarte, with caramel, will still be very hot indeed.
If some caramel juice runs out of the tart it can be brushed over the top of the apples as it starts to cool down some.
My Tarte Tatin
I arranged the apples in the pan, with the sugar, butter and a little ground cardamom. Then I cooked them on the stove top for 10 minutes, until I had a caramel sauce. Personally I think another couple of minutes would have been even better, to thicken the caramel a little more.
I covered the apples with the puff pastry, tucking the overlap in around the edges and then baked the tarte for 35 minutes.
I left it to rest for 5 minutes and, before carefully, turning it out onto a plate.
Then I left it to cool down to until still warm but not too hot to eat. When I cut a slice some of the caramel ran onto the plate, so I simply brushed that over the apples as a lovely sweet glaze.
I served my slice with some creme fraiche, though ice-cream or cream, or even custard would be good too. The taste was simply wondeful. A sweet, but also slightly tart flavour from the wonderfully soft apples. That was matched by the caramel sauce that coated the apples. The pefectly cooked puff pastry was still crisp around the edge and had slightly softened underneath the apples.
Altogether it was simply wonderful.
Here is another version of Tarte Tatin using a shortcake pastry.
Apple Tarte Tatin – Easy Recipe
Course: Desserts, Pies, TartsCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Easy8
servings30
minutes40
minutesIngredients
5 to 8 apples of choice(depending on size) peeled, cored and quartered
100g(7 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
100g(1/2 cup) caster sugar
1 sheet of shop bough puff pastry, cut into a disc of about 25cm(10 inches)
1g(1/4 tsp) ground cardamom, or other spice of choice(optional)
pinch of salt
Directions
- Spread the butter over the base of a 23cm/9 inch oven proof pan
- Mix the cardamom into the sugar and then spread that over the butter.
- Arrange the quarters of apple around the edge of the pan, resting in the butter and sugar and overlapping slightly.
- Place the remaining apples inside the ring of apples around the edge.
- Preheat the oven to 210C/190C Fan/410F.
- Place the pan on the stove top, on a medium to high heat, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the butter and sugar have dissolved into a thick caramel.
- Remove the pan from the heat, add a little salt if desired, and carefully cover the apples with the puff pastry, tucking in the overlap all around the edge, taking care not to burn yourself on the hot pan.
- Bake the tarte in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the pastry has turned a lovely golden brown.
- Remove the tarte from the oven and leave to cool for about 5 minutes.
- Carefully place a large plate, face down, on the tarte and turn the tarte and plate over. Be very careful as the pan is hot and the caramel very hot indeed.
- Lift the pan up. to uncover the tarte.
- Leave the tart to cool until it ready to serve, still warm. When you cut the tart if any caramel leaks out simple brush it over the apples.