Tarte Tatin
Adapted from Erik Van Alphen
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12-15 medium sized firm apples, peeled (Pink lady are ideal although I used Sundowner)
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Juice of 1/2 lemon
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200g vanilla sugar or 200g caster sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
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3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
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2 sheets butter puff pastry
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vanilla ice cream or double cream to serve
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oven proof saucepan with oven proof handle
Step 1 - Halve peeled apples and using a melon baller, scoop out the core by pressing down the baller gently (making sure not to break the apple half). Remove the top and ends also using the melon baller. Toss the apples in half of the vanilla sugar and the lemon juice.
Step 2 - Make the caramel by putting the remaining 100g/3.5ozs sugar and 3 tablespoons of water in an oven proof frypan and on a very low heat, melt the sugar. Once the sugar has melted and there are no longer crystals of sugar, turn up the heat a little but don't stir. Tilt the pan and move it around from time to time until syrup becomes a caramel shade. Add the butter and stir until it melts and the sugar and butter bubble and combine and remove from the heat.
Step 3 - Place the apple halves as shown packing them in tightly as they will shrink. I had one half sticking above the rest as shown above but after cooking for a little bit, it fit in. Place pan back on low heat and cover with foil and cook for about 6-7 minutes until apples are partially softened. Allow to cool. Apples have a lot of pectin so you should get some jelly from the pectin. Or place in fridge to cool overnight and remove a few hours before you want to serve it.
Step 4 - When cold, cover the tart with a sheet of puff pastry then overlay it with another sheet (the edges forming a star shape). Fold over the edges to create a round rim and tuck in the rim around the apples firmly. Rest for 20 minutes.
Step 5 - Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Bake the tart for 40 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and cool in the pan. The trick now is to ensure that the tart comes out. To do this, put your palm against the pastry and pressing gently rotate the tart and apples slightly and see if the tart and pieces of apple will rotate. If it does rotate it will come out of the pan easily. If not, then return the pan to the stove on low to melt the caramel and loosen it and try rotating it again.
Step 6 - Take a large plate and upturn the tarte on it in one swift motion. Serve with thick cream or vanilla ice cream.