Scared of making caramel? This delicious tarte Tatin will help you get over it

A French woman once told me that tarte Tatin was a bistro dish and would never be featured on the menu in a fine dining restaurant. On the contrary, madame, as it was a staple on the lunch menu for a period when I was a pastry chef in one of Ireland’s top restaurants. Now, I continue to see it on restaurant menus around the country. Joy!

Tarte Tatin, is an upside-down apple tart, with a base layer of caramel, apples, then puff pastry, all baked together and served fruit side up. Tarte Tatin is underrated, but also very impressive. For a dish that can be made with only a handful of ingredients, it showcases each ingredient superbly. Moreover, it is simple. If you have any fears about making your own caramel, this is the dish to overcome that fear. It will be absolutely worth it.

One of my favourite aromas is apples caramelising; sugar melts and dissolves over a medium heat, then turns an amber colour. Once this happens, butter is added, then the apples, which are tossed in the caramel to coat them completely. This fragrance alone is unbelievable. Adding a little vanilla or apple brandy here will enhance the flavours, but sometimes minimalism is best to really let the apple and caramel flavour shine.

Cooking the apples briefly in the caramel helps to achieve a beautifully rich, deep-coloured caramel, which cooks into the apples and softens them ever so slightly before baking. The apples are then arranged in a skillet or heavy-bottomed frying pan, the caramel is poured over, then a disc of puff pastry is tucked in on top and baked until puffed-up and crisp. The caramel apples underneath cook into the pastry, so that once turned out, everything has melded together to form a perfect tart.

Apple tarte Tatin

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A few tips: the type of apple you use is important. Dessert apples such as Braeburn, Cox’s or Granny Smith will hold their shape better than fluffier varieties. Drying the apples out slightly before cooking your Tatin will also help with this. Peel, core and quarter the apples the day before you want to bake, then pop them on a tray, covered, and into the fridge. This step reduces the amount of liquid in the tart; the apples may turn brown, but don’t worry, they will be caramelised anyway.

I cut out a disc of shop-bought all-butter puff pastry a little bigger than my heavy skillet pan, prick it all over with a fork, then freeze it while caramelising the apples. This helps the pastry retain its shape when baking.

Tarte Tatin is best eaten on the day it is served and is perfect with a soft scoop of gorgeous vanilla ice cream.

Recipe: Tarte Tatin