Tarte Tatin

Vacations in Allahabad are the best time to bake for me. I get all the time and luxury to dig out recipes that have been piling in my note books and try them out. 

Daring Bakers challenge for the month of March was suggested by a very dear member Korena who in the past has suggested some beautiful cakes. Tarte tatin as she describes is a classic French dessert which is a distant cousin of sorts to the famous Apple pie. Tarte Tatin is basically an upside down pastry where apples are first caramelized in sugar in a saucepan, covered with a rough puff pastry and then baked. Usually the same oven proof saucepan is used for both the times i.e. caramelizing and baking. 

Like almost all French pastries, this one has an interesting story too which says that tart gets its name after the Tatin sisters who used to run a hotel and who accidentally forgot to put the bottom crust of an apple pie. The guests loved it so much that it became the hotel's signature dish.

I, as usual, reduced the quantity for my experiment and came out with 2 mini pies. Try and use a firm apple for this recipe, preferably the green Granny Smith variety. 

Recipe adapted from : Korena in the kitchen

Ingredients : serves 2

Rough Puff Pastry 

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 30 gms cold butter
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp powdered sugar
• cold water for kneading

Combine flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.

Cut butter in small cubes and add to the flour.

Rub butter with flour till all is mixed.

Visible bits of butter is fine.

Add water little by little and knead to a dough.

Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough into a rough rectangle.

Fold bottom third up into the middle and fold the top third down, like folding a letter. This is one fold.

Turn the dough a quarter so that open edge faces you and roll again to a rough rectangle.

Fold again. This is second fold.

Repeat 3 more times making it 5 folds in total.

After the last fold, roll dough into a square and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.

Filling : 

• 1 apple (I used a green apple)
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice 
• 20 gms butter
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• pinch of salt

Peel apple, remove core and cut in slices. 

Place apple slices in a bowl and add lemon juice and 2 tbsp sugar. 

Mix well and set aside for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 190 degree Celsius. 

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar. 

Stir until sugar melts and becomes pale smooth caramel.

Remove from heat.

Add the apple slices to the caramel taking care to discard the juice that come out from apples. 

Cook for few minutes till the apple slices get covered in the caramel.

Place the apple slices in a 3" round tart shell.

Roll out the pastry into a rough circle 4" round and lay it over the filling, tucking in the edges at the sides of the tart shell. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or till the pastry is golden brown.

Serve with a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream and with a drizzle of some caramel sauce.

Happy rich caramel and puff pastry Indulging

Amrita