tarte tatin

I love the story of the origins of tarte tatin.  Legend has it that the two Tatin sisters, Caroline and Stephanie, ran a restaurant in rural France.  One day Stephanie burnt the bottom of the apple tart they were making (quelle horreur!) so she turned it upside down, scraped off the burnt pastry and put a layer of new pastry on the top.  Then she flipped it upside down to serve it  - et voila! - tarte tatin was born.  The customers loved it and it became their signature dish.

It's not a pretty pudding (well, mine never is!) and it looks really rustic, but the combination of light golden puff pastry, soft juicy fruit and buttery caramel is delicious and it is so easy to make.  This is Jamie Oliver's recipe - if you can't find Calvados (which is a Spanish apple brandy), use ordinary brandy or a fruit based liqueur like cointreau.  (You can also substitute pears or other fruit for the apples).  You'll need an oven proof frying pan for this (I've got a special le creuset tarte tatin dish which is a bit of an extravagance, but I make it a lot!).  If you haven't got an ovenproof frying pan you can make it in a large, heavy casserole dish (with the lid off), but becareful when you turn it out.

Ingredients

plain flour (for dusting)

500 g puff pastry (make sure it's a really good brand that contains only real butter)

5 small eating apples (about 800g), a mixture of sweet and acidic varieties

100 g caster sugar

100 ml Calvados

1 vanilla pod, halved lengthways, seeds scraped out 

50 g butter, cubed

Preheat your oven to 190˚C/375˚F/gas 5.  Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour and roll out your puff pastry until it's just over 1/2 cm thick. Make sure it's big enough to cover the ovenproof frying pan you'll be cooking the tarte Tatin in, leaving about 5cm extra around the edge.  Peel your apples, then halve them horizontally and use a teaspoon to get rid of the seeds and core.

Put the ovenproof pan on a medium heat and add the sugar, Calvados, vanilla seeds and pod. Let the sugar dissolve and cook until the mixture forms a light caramel.  (Remember not to touch or taste hot caramel, as it can burn really badly).

Once the caramel looks and smells delicious – it should be a lovely chestnut brown – add your halved apples. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the apples start to soften and you get a toffee apple vibe happening.  Add the cubed butter, then lay the pastry over the top. Carefully tuck the pastry down right into the edges using a wooden spoon.

Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden.  To make it look like a tarte Tatin you need to turn it out, which isn't hard – but you do need to be careful with that hot caramel. So get a serving plate or a board larger than your pan and put an oven glove on to protect the arm holding the board. Put the board or plate on top of the pan, then flip it over quickly.  Serve with a spoonful of cream or crème fraîche or ice cream.