TARTE TATIN
Louis XIV’s personal baker Monsieur Tatin had two daughters who made their father a caramelised upside down apple pie using dessert apples. The king was so impressed with the tarte – he always had it on his menu and named it Tarte Tatin!
SERVES 6
Ingredients
Topping
2 oz (50g) butter
2 oz (50g) light muscovado sugar
2 lb (900g) dessert apples
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
Pastry
4 oz (100g) flour
3 oz (75g) butter
1 egg yolk
Drop of water
15g icing sugar
For the topping:
Measure out the butter and sugar into a heavy pan. Gently melt together without boiling until the sugar has dissolved, stirring occasionally.
Peel, core and thickly slice the apples, add the apples, lemon juice and rind to the sugar mixture, stir well until the apples are coated. You can either tip or arrange the apples and juices into a lightly greased 8 inch or 20cm sandwich tin and leave to cool.
For the pastry:
If I am pushed for time, I use a bought, pre-rolled shortcrust pastry. If not mix the pastry ingredients and roll to fit over and completely cover the apples. Trim off any surplus pastry.
Bake for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees until the pastry is golden brown. The pastry will have shrunk slightly, tip the juices from the tin into a small jug. Turn the tart out onto a plate, with the pastry on the bottom.
Reduce the juices to a caramelised sauce for 3-4 minutes on the hob. Pour over the apples. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
Recipe credit: Mary Berry