Linda Collister’s TARTE TATIN
from ‘The Baking Book’ Serves 8-10
11in Tarte Tatin Pan (22313)
PASTRY:
7oz plain flour; 1oz caster sugar; 3½oz unsalted butter, chilled and diced; 1egg
yolk; 2 tablespoons icy water; a pinch of salt.
FILLING: 4oz unsalted butter; 7oz caster sugar;
4½lb (about 12) 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.
