Tarte Tatin serves 6, takes 1 hour 15 minutes, is cooked in a M’Passion Tatin Mould.
The baker’s bench
Caramel made in the mould, apples on top, pastry over, and the whole thing turned out in front of people.
Why this pan
A Tatin mould goes on the hob to make the caramel and into the oven to bake the pastry, and it has to survive the temperature swing without warping or catching. That is a small list of pans.
Copper gives you the caramel window — the thirty seconds between amber and burnt — with enough warning to act. In a thin pan the sugar goes from pale to black while you are reaching for the apples.
The panM’Passion Tatin MouldR3 660.00 – R5 070.00Price range: R3 660.00 through R5 070.00 Inc VAT
Ingredients
- 8 firm apples, peeled, halved, cored
- 150 g caster sugar
- 80 g butter, diced
- 1 roll all-butter puff pastry
- A pinch of salt
Method
- Peel and halve the apples an hour ahead and leave them uncovered to dry out slightly.
- Scatter the sugar evenly in the mould and set over a medium flame. Do not stir. Let it melt and go amber, tilting the pan to even it out.
- Off the heat, stir in the butter and salt. It will hiss and seize; keep stirring until smooth.
- Pack the apple halves in tightly, cut side up, curved side down. They shrink, so tighter than looks sensible.
- Return to a low flame for 15 minutes to start the apples cooking in the caramel.
- Lay the pastry over, tuck the edges down inside the mould, and cut two small vents.
- Bake at 190°C for 30 to 35 minutes until the pastry is deep gold. Rest 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate in one confident movement.
The step most people rush
The ten-minute rest before turning it out. Straight from the oven the caramel is liquid and runs everywhere; left too long it glues itself to the mould. Ten minutes is the window.
Cooked in M’Passion Tatin Mould. Made by Mauviel1830 in Normandy.