Chefs Binge · European · Serves 6 servings
Easy Classic Apple Tarte Tatin
Apples halved into a spiced caramel made in the pan, covered with puff pastry, baked and turned out upside down. Served warm with clotted cream.
Prep
20 min
Cook
40 min
Total
1 hr 10 min
Serves
6 servings
Per serving
410 kcal
Ingredients
6 Medium apples - Granny Smith, Braeburn, or Pink Lady
100 g Unsalted butter
150 g Caster sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract - optional
1 Pinch Sea salt
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Star anise
1 Lemon - juice only
1 Sheet puff pastry - about 250 g
Clotted cream - 1 to 2 tbsp per portion, to serve
Small mint leaves - to garnish
Equipment
24cm Ovenproof Frying Pan · Peeler · Apple corer · Mixing Bowl · Baking Parchment · Plate (larger than the pan)
Method
1
Prep and preheat. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F, gas 5), or 170°C fan. Peel, halve and core the apples, dropping each half into a bowl of lemon water as you go so they do not brown. Do all six before you start the caramel.
2
Make spiced caramel. In an ovenproof 24 cm frying pan, melt the butter and sugar over a medium heat. Add the lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon stick, star anise and a pinch of salt. Cook gently, swirling the pan by the handle rather than stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the caramel turns deep amber. Drop the heat as the bubbling slows, because that is where it climbs fastest.
3
Cook apples with a cartouche. Drain and pat the apples dry. Arrange them rounded side down in the caramel. Cover with a parchment cartouche (with a small steam hole). Simmer for 10-12 minutes, basting occasionally. The cartouche keeps the apples moist and evenly cooked.
4
Add pastry and bake. Remove the cartouche. Drape the pastry over the apples and tuck in the edges. Prick a few holes for steam to escape. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and puffed.
5
Invert and finish. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Remove cinnamon and star anise. Place a plate over the pan and flip carefully - hot caramel may spill, so use caution.
6
Serve warm. Cut into wedges and serve with a generous spoonful of clotted cream and a fresh mint sprig. Drizzle over any leftover pan caramel if desired. Smacznego!
Chef’s notes
- Swirl the caramel, never stir it. Agitation, a metal spoon, or a crystal of dried syrup falling in off the side of the pan will all set the sugar crystallising and turn it grainy. Move the pan by the handle and brush any spatter down with a wet pastry brush.
- The lemon juice is not a garnish. Acid splits some of the sugar as it heats into a mixture that will not crystallise, and it also helps the apple halves hold their shape.
- Drop the heat near the end. Once the water has boiled off, the temperature climbs very fast, which is why caramel goes from amber to burnt in seconds.
- Firm, tart apples only. Granny Smith, Braeburn, Pink Lady or Golden Delicious. Bramleys and other cooking apples are bred to collapse and will give you apple sauce under a lid of pastry.
- Flip it warm. Five to ten minutes and no longer. Warm caramel pours, cold caramel glues. If it has stuck, put the pan back on a low heat for a minute or two.
- Keeping it: best within the hour. Two to three days covered in the fridge, reheated in a hot oven rather than a microwave. Freezing costs you the pastry.
Per serving Calories 410 kcal · Protein 2.5 g · Carbs 48 g · Fat 24 g · Saturates 15 g · Fibre 2.8 g · Sugar 33 g · Sodium 140 mg
Recipe © Chef Łukasz Babral · chefsbinge.com · for personal use only
chefsbinge.com/easy-classic-apple-tarte-tatin
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