You have all heard of them, cooked them and indeed loved them, but making a tart tatin is not as daunting as it possibly has become or should ever be. As a classic, it should be one that is in everyone’s repertoire. It’s actually quite easy and straight forward, the flipping at the end is the only time where nerves might set in.
So, here’s what to do to cook the perfect tart tatin for me.
WHAT YOU NEED
5 medium sized apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
Sheets of Puff pastry – yes shop bought is perfect as I would not expect
anyone to make their own – I did years ago and vowed never to return.
50g butter
50ml water
200g sugar
pinch of salt
A beaten egg to glaze
WHAT TO DO
Place the sugar water and butter in a heavy based pan and I find that if the butter is at room temperature, you can spread it out more evenly over the sugar.
Arrange the peeled, cored and sliced apples on top of the sugar in a neat fashion and make sure that all of the sugar mix underneath is covered with the apples.
Place the pan on the heat and allow the sugar mix to melt and bubbles and this will take about five minutes but be careful about the apple slices moving. Trick is to not have the sugar bubbling too vigorously underneath.
Then, remove from the heat and take a sheet of the puff pastry, roughly cut it to size and place it on top of the apples.
Brush the pastry with some of the beaten egg and place in an oven for 20 minutes at 200degC.
After 15 minutes, remove the tart and brush again with the remainder of the egg and put back in for the last five minutes.
Remove it from the oven and allow to cool for five minutes – this will take the initial sting out of the heat of the sugar.
Now comes the fun bit – take a plate that is larger than the pan and cover it – invert the plate and carefully allow the tart to release from the pan and transfer on to the plate.
Allow to cool for five more minutes and serve warm with creme fraiche or a favourite ice-cream.
