The beauty of Chantilly cream is that it can instantly elevate any dessert once you have learnt the tricks of whipping this satiny cream. Pick up the art of layering apple slices and recreate this classic French dessert, which pleases both the palate and the eyes.
Cuisine : Baking Course : Dessert Skill Level : Novice
Prep : 20 mins Cook : 70 mins Ready in : 90 mins Serves : 6
INGREDIENTS:
- 250g Pâte Sucrée (sweet pie crust)
- 3 Large Apples (Braeburn, Golden, Cox Orange, Reinette)
Caramel
- 150g Sugar
- 60g Butter
Vanilla Butter
- 50g Butter (soft)
- 50g Fine Caster Sugar
- ½ Vanilla Pod
Basic Pate Sucrée
- 125g Unsalted Butter
- 80g Icing Sugar
- 1 Vanilla Pod (pulp)
- 40g White Almond Powder
- 1 Egg
- 200g Plain Flour
- 1 pinch of Salt
DIRECTIONS:
For Tarte Tatin
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Preheat the oven to 180°C. Insert a grill in the lower part of the oven.
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Prepare the caramel: In a large and heavy bottomed pan, heat the sugar on medium heat until it melts. Don’t stir, just swirl the pan slightly. As soon as the caramel has a nice amber color, remove the pan from fire and cover the bottom of 6 silicon moulds (12 cm) with caramel. Add 10 g butter in each mould.
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Prepare the apples: Peel them, cut them in two and remove the core with a melon baller. With a small and sharp knife, make fine incisions in the rounded part of the apple half. Place this part into the caramel, 1 half in each mould. The apple should be big enough to fill the mould completely, because it will shrink during the cooking process!
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In a bowl, mix soft butter with sugar and vanilla seeds from vanilla pod. Mix with a spoon, then spoon equally over the apples.
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Bake in oven for about 45 minutes or until apples are tender and soaked with caramel – they change colour and are now caramel brown. Let cool out for a moment.
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Roll out the pâte sucrée on a little bit of flour, 2 mm thick. Cut out rounds which are slightly bigger than the moulds. Cover the apples with the pastry and press slightly.
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Bake in the middle of the preheated oven (180°C) for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
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Place a chopping board on top of the moulds. Cover with a towel. Flip the moulds over very quickly, so that the caramel will not spill out (it can be burning hot!!) Then place the individual Tarte Tatin on plates. Serve with some whipped cream with vanilla & sugar.
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*Tip: You can prepare the Tarte Tatin in advance: caramelize the apples, then cover with dough and place in fridge. Bake 1 hour before serving.
For Basic Pate Sucrée
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Using an electric mixer, mix the butter and icing sugar until creamy – add the vanilla pulp, salt, almonds, mix again, than add the egg and mix well. Sift the flour into the butter/egg cream, then mix just until the dough comes together.
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Remove the dough from the mixer, pat into a rectangle and cover in cling wrap. Refrigerate for at least one night before using.