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(Scroll down for our New Mini Tatins)
There
are many excellent recipes for this classic French dessert. Here we offer our two favourites, the first using shortcrust
pastry and the second, puff pastry.
Linda
Collister's TARTE TATIN
from
'The Baking Book' Serves 6
8in
Tarte Tatin Pan (22383)
PASTRY: 6oz plain flour; 1oz caster sugar; 3oz unsalted
butter, chilled and diced; 1egg yolk; 2 tablespoons icy water; a pinch of salt.
FILLING: 3oz unsalted
butter; 6oz caster sugar; 3lb (about 8) dessert apples, such as Cox's Orange Pippin, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Egremont
Russet.
It is
best to use tart eating apples for the filling - cooking apples release too much liquid - and to pack them together tightly.
Don't put the pastry onto the apples until they are sitting in a good brown caramel or the tart will be soggy and insipid-tasting.
Make
the pastry dough by hand or in a food processor: Put the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of the processor and process until
mixed. Add the diced butter and process until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. With the machine running, add the egg yolk
and icy water through the feed tube, and process until the mixture binds together to form a firm but not dry dough. If there
are dry crumbs, gradually add a little more water. Wrap and chill while preparing the apples.
Cut
the butter into thin slices and arrange to cover the base of the pan completely. Sprinkle over the sugar to make an even layer.
Peel,
halve and core the apples. Arrange in the pan, on top of the butter and sugar, so the apple halves stand up vertically. Pack
the apples tightly together so the tart will not collapse in the oven. Put the pan over a moderate heat on top of the stove
and cook for 20-30 minutes or until the butter and sugar have formed a richly coloured caramel, and all the moisture from
the apples has evaporated. Remove from the heat. While the apples are cooking, preheat the oven to 220C (425F, Gas 7).
Roll
out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a round to fit the top of the pan. Roll up the dough around the rolling pin
and lift over the pan. Gently unroll the dough so it covers the apples completely. Quickly tuck the edges of the dough down
inside the pan, then prick the pastry lid all over with a fork. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Cool
slightly, then loosen the pastry edges and turn out the tart upside down so the pastry is under the caramelised apples. Eat
warm or at room temperature, with ice-cream, crème fraîche or fromage frais.
Patricia
Candy's PUFF PASTRY TARTE TATIN.
Serves
6
8in Tarte Tatin Pan (22383)
5 Coxes Orange Pippins; Juice
of 1 Lemon; 3oz Butter, thinly sliced; 5oz Sugar; 7oz Puff Pastry
Peel, quarter and core apples
- brush with lemon juice and put in the fridge. Cover the base of the dish with butter then sprinkle on the sugar. Arrange
apples neatly on top of the sugar. Roll out pastry and lay over dish, leaving small overlap. Trim back to outer edge of lip
and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to gas mark 7 /
425°F / 220°C. Place the dish on medium-hot hob for 12-15 minutes to caramelise the sugar and butter to a light amber colour.
(Lift the edge of the pastry with a knife to check colour). Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes until the pastry has
risen and cooked to a golden colour. Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, then cover with a plate. Taking great care,
briskly turn the whole thing over - the pastry now forms the base of the tart with the caramelised apples on top.
(Patricia Candy runs The
Kitchen Shop Dartmouth)
New Mini Tarte Tatins
(22343 and 22353)
 Individual Tarte Tatins (Makes four 5in or five 4in Tatins).
PASTRY: 6oz plain flour; 1oz caster sugar; 3oz unsalted
butter, chilled and diced; 1egg yolk; 2 tablespoons icy water; a pinch of salt.
FILLING: 3oz butter;
6oz caster sugar; 3lb (about 8) tart apples.
Method: Put the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Add the diced butter and blend until the
mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg yolk and icy water, and mix to a firm dough. Wrap and chill while preparing the
apples.
Preheat the oven to 220C (425F, Gas 7). Meanwhile, divide the remaining butter evenly between the dishes, and
gently melt on the hob. Remove from the heat and sprinkle over the sugar to make an even layer. Peel, core and quarter the
apples. Arrange in the dishes, using 1½ to 2 apples per dish, packing gaps with smaller chopped pieces. Put the dishes over
a moderate heat on the hob and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the butter and sugar have formed a richly coloured caramel.
Remove from the heat.
Divide the pastry into even portions, then roll out on a lightly floured surface to form rounds
to fit the top of the dishes. Lay the pastry over the apples, tuck the edges down with a fork, then prick all over. Oven
bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool slightly and loosen the edges with a knife. Place a small plate over each dish. Flip over and lift-away
the dish.
Serve with ice-cream, crème fraîche or fromage frais.
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