This cake is a classic, and for all the right reasons. And if you make it with shop-bought puff pastry, it makes for quite an easy and impressive dessert.
I am kicking myself now for not taking a photo when I made this, but I was so into it at the dinner party where I made it, I simply forgot. It looked stunning, and I am sure there will be additional opportunities to take photos.
I revert-modified this recipe from the wonderful (and cute!) book The little Paris kitchen, as I wanted to bake the pastry together with the apples.
Tarte tatin
Ingredients
For the salted caramel
- 100 g sugar
- 60 g soft butter
- 1 tsp salt
For the tart
- puff pastry round, rolled
- 6-8 apples, peeled, cored, and halved
- 30 g butter
- melted sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
To make the salted caramel
Sprinkle a thin layer of the sugar over the bottom of a heavy-based pan and place on a medium heat. Once the sugar starts to melt, add some more of the sugar. Repeat a couple of times until all the sugar has melted. Continue heating the caramel, swirling it around in the pan (do not stir). When the caramel is almost a Coca-Cola color, take the pan off the heat and swirl in the butter (stand back a little as it may splatter) and add the salt. Pour the caramel into the tart pan and swirl it around to cover the bottom and sides.
To make the tart
- Preheat the oven 180˚C.
- Place the apples in the tart pan with the cut side down, arranging them tightly, making sure they are really snug (they shrink when they cook). You can cut the last apple into quarters to stuff some of the large holes. Brush the apples with the melted butter and sprinkle some sugar on top.
- Cover with the puff pastry, tucking in the edges in the tart pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the apples are tender but not mushy and the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and leave the tart to cool until it is not too hot to the touch.
- Invert a large dinner plate on top of the pastry. Turn the tart and the plate over so that the apples come out on top of the pastry. Serve straightaway.