Apple Tarte Tatin
Apple Tarte Tatin
Apple tarte tatin is a classic recipe that everyone should try! Caramelised apples with a crispy, buttery puff pastry underneath.
Typically it’s baked in a round pan, but here we are elevating it by using a square cake tin to bake it, so we can cut it into neat rectangles. It’s finished with lines of vanilla mascarpone cream and soft caramel.
You can by all means use this recipe and bake it in a normal pan and skip the design!
We’re using my classic puff pastry recipe and liquid caramel, so make sure to check those recipes out too.
Ingredients
Method
Prepare one batch of the classic puff pastry but only perform 4 single folds on the dough. 6 will make the pastry puff too much! Once you have completed all the folds, chill the pastry.
Into a small bowl, add the powdered gelatin and cold water. Stir them together and set it to one side to bloom for 5 minutes.
Add the cream and beans from a fresh vanilla pod into a small saucepan and place it over a medium heat, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, add the chocolate and mascarpone into a tall jug.
Once the cream is steaming hot, pour it into the tall jug, and scoop in the bloomed gelatin. Use a hand blender to blend it together until smooth.
Refrigerate the mixture for a minimum of 6 hours or ideally overnight.
Once chilled, add the mixture into a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk it on a medium speed until it holds a medium stiff peak.
Add the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large round-tip nozzle. Pipe long lines of the cream onto a silicon mat, then freeze these until ready to use.
The key to the caramel is adding the sugar in small increments. Add a thin layer of sugar to the bottom of a small saucepan - roughly 30-40g. Shake the pan slightly to disperse it and flatten it across the bottom of the pan.
Place it on a medium low heat and do not stir it.
Once the outer edges of the caramel have started to melt and have turned a light golden colour, use a rubber spatula to gently press the hot caramel from the edges, towards the centre, in order to melt the sugar in the middle. The hot melted caramel should very quickly melt the undissolved sugar.
Once all the sugar has dissolved, add your next part of sugar, again only a small amount. Sprinkle it into the centre of the melted sugar, and use the spatula again, to gently press the hot caramel from the edges, towards the centre, in order to melt the sugar in the middle.
Once dissolved, keep repeating this process. The sugar will begin to darken the further you get through the process and at this point, the 'fresh' sugar can be stirred in very quickly as it will melt immediately. Once you've added all the sugar, keep stirring it until you have a deep golden colour.
Remove it from the heat and immediately add the butter in cubes, whisking constantly. Initially it will look slightly split, but as you continue to whisk, it will pull together into a smooth caramel.
Immediately pour the caramel into a 9.5x9.5" (24x24cm) tin and spread it quickly to the edges - a good tip is to make sure the tin is slightly warm, this will prevent the caramel from setting immediately.
Set this to one side, and pre-heat the oven to 180C/355F Non-Fan Assisted (160C/320F Fan Assisted).
Core and peel your apples, then chop them in half. I add them to a bowl of water with a bit of lemon juice just to stop them oxidising and turning brown.
Once you have cut all your apples, pack them tightly into your tin, standing them up vertically. If they don't quite fit, just trim down the edges slightly with a knife so they are snug.
Place the apples into the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes, before covering them tightly with foil and refrigerating for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight.
At this point, prepare the caramel recipe and store this in a jar at room temperature. Alternatively, it can be stored in the fridge ahead of time and gently re-heated before using.
The next day, pre-heat your oven to the same temperature again. Roll out your puff pastry into a rough square about 5mm thick and slightly bigger than your tin. Cut it down to size if needs be and then dock it with a fork. Lift it on top of the apples, using the slight overhang of pastry to tuck it into the edges of the tin and really seal the apples.
Place it back into the oven on a tray, and bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until the pastry is a deep golden colour.
At this point, you have two options. You can cool it to room temperature and then chill it completely in the fridge. When you need it, place it into a hot oven just for a few minutes to loosen the caramel and flip it out onto a chopping board. It can then be sliced into rectangles and the individual slices can be re-heated when you are ready to serve. Chilling it will make it easier to slice, but if it becomes too warm it could melt the cream when you add it.
Alternatively, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 45 minutes, then place it back in a hot oven just for 2 minutes to melt the caramel slightly to ensure it comes out of the tin! Flip it onto a chopping board and slice it into rectangles. As it is still warm at this point, it can make the cutting slightly trickier! You should get around 10 slices depending on how big you want them.
Remove the frozen strips of cream from the freezer and cut them down to size to perfectly fit the top of your tarte tatin.
Place the caramel into a piping bag and pipe a thick line down the centre of the cream. The cream should defrost quickly and be ready to serve a few minutes later.
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare one batch of the classic puff pastry but only perform 4 single folds on the dough. 6 will make the pastry puff too much! Once you have completed all the folds, chill the pastry.
Into a small bowl, add the powdered gelatin and cold water. Stir them together and set it to one side to bloom for 5 minutes.
Add the cream and beans from a fresh vanilla pod into a small saucepan and place it over a medium heat, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, add the chocolate and mascarpone into a tall jug.
Once the cream is steaming hot, pour it into the tall jug, and scoop in the bloomed gelatin. Use a hand blender to blend it together until smooth.
Refrigerate the mixture for a minimum of 6 hours or ideally overnight.
Once chilled, add the mixture into a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk it on a medium speed until it holds a medium stiff peak.
Add the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large round-tip nozzle. Pipe long lines of the cream onto a silicon mat, then freeze these until ready to use.
The key to the caramel is adding the sugar in small increments. Add a thin layer of sugar to the bottom of a small saucepan - roughly 30-40g. Shake the pan slightly to disperse it and flatten it across the bottom of the pan.
Place it on a medium low heat and do not stir it.
Once the outer edges of the caramel have started to melt and have turned a light golden colour, use a rubber spatula to gently press the hot caramel from the edges, towards the centre, in order to melt the sugar in the middle. The hot melted caramel should very quickly melt the undissolved sugar.
Once all the sugar has dissolved, add your next part of sugar, again only a small amount. Sprinkle it into the centre of the melted sugar, and use the spatula again, to gently press the hot caramel from the edges, towards the centre, in order to melt the sugar in the middle.
Once dissolved, keep repeating this process. The sugar will begin to darken the further you get through the process and at this point, the 'fresh' sugar can be stirred in very quickly as it will melt immediately. Once you've added all the sugar, keep stirring it until you have a deep golden colour.
Remove it from the heat and immediately add the butter in cubes, whisking constantly. Initially it will look slightly split, but as you continue to whisk, it will pull together into a smooth caramel.
Immediately pour the caramel into a 9.5x9.5" (24x24cm) tin and spread it quickly to the edges - a good tip is to make sure the tin is slightly warm, this will prevent the caramel from setting immediately.
Set this to one side, and pre-heat the oven to 180C/355F Non-Fan Assisted (160C/320F Fan Assisted).
Core and peel your apples, then chop them in half. I add them to a bowl of water with a bit of lemon juice just to stop them oxidising and turning brown.
Once you have cut all your apples, pack them tightly into your tin, standing them up vertically. If they don't quite fit, just trim down the edges slightly with a knife so they are snug.
Place the apples into the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes, before covering them tightly with foil and refrigerating for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight.
At this point, prepare the caramel recipe and store this in a jar at room temperature. Alternatively, it can be stored in the fridge ahead of time and gently re-heated before using.
The next day, pre-heat your oven to the same temperature again. Roll out your puff pastry into a rough square about 5mm thick and slightly bigger than your tin. Cut it down to size if needs be and then dock it with a fork. Lift it on top of the apples, using the slight overhang of pastry to tuck it into the edges of the tin and really seal the apples.
Place it back into the oven on a tray, and bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until the pastry is a deep golden colour.
At this point, you have two options. You can cool it to room temperature and then chill it completely in the fridge. When you need it, place it into a hot oven just for a few minutes to loosen the caramel and flip it out onto a chopping board. It can then be sliced into rectangles and the individual slices can be re-heated when you are ready to serve. Chilling it will make it easier to slice, but if it becomes too warm it could melt the cream when you add it.
Alternatively, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 45 minutes, then place it back in a hot oven just for 2 minutes to melt the caramel slightly to ensure it comes out of the tin! Flip it onto a chopping board and slice it into rectangles. As it is still warm at this point, it can make the cutting slightly trickier! You should get around 10 slices depending on how big you want them.
Remove the frozen strips of cream from the freezer and cut them down to size to perfectly fit the top of your tarte tatin.
Place the caramel into a piping bag and pipe a thick line down the centre of the cream. The cream should defrost quickly and be ready to serve a few minutes later.
Hi Chef,
Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe, and can’t wait to try. Just wondered what size did you cut for a slice? Many thanks 🙏🏻
About 3.5″ long and 1″ wide