Apricot Tarte Tatin
This is essentially an upside down fruit tart! Most famous with apples but can be used with many different fruit – and even some vegetables!
Servings 6
Equipment
- Small oven proof frying pan with a bottom of around 20cm diameter
Ingredients
- 75 g Caster sugar
- 40 g unsalted butter
- 8 fresh apricots if you don't have fresh you can use canned apricots – one can should be enough
- 1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry
- plain flour for dusting
- ice cream or crème fraiche to serve
Instructions
- Add the caster sugar to the frying pan and place it over a medium heat. When the sugar starts to melt, watch it carefully until it caramelises and turns golden brown. Don't stir it but you can swirl the pan around. Be careful not to take it too far or it will taste burnt.
- Once golden brown, remove pan from heat and add the butter to it. Stir in with a wooden spoon. The sugar is extremely hot so take care not to splash any out of the pan. Obviously don't think of tasting it!
- Keep stirring – the caramel will start to thicken as it cools down. It will start off with butter looking oily and separated but continue stirring and the mixture will become smooth and more toffee like in consistency.
- Once the caramel is smooth, carefully add the apricots (each one sliced in half) cut side down. Leave to cool for 20 minutes.
- Turn the oven to 200C (180C for fan assisted ovens)
- Spread a dusting of flour on the worktop and unroll the puff pastry. Roll it out a little until it's a little wider than before. Place a 25cm cake tin/plate on top of it, and cut around.
- Slide the pastry over the top of the apricots and push down the sides with a spatula lightly tucking the pastry in. Prick the surface a few times so that steam can escape.
- Bake the tarte tatin in the oven for around 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the apricots are cooked. Remove the pan from the oven using oven gloves and don't forget that the pan handle will be extremely hot.
- Leave the tarte to stand for a few minutes and then loosen the edges with a spatula. Place a large plate or board on top of the frying pan. Carefully, but quite quickly, flip the pan over using silicone oven gloves or a tea towel, so that you can get proper hold of it. Allow the tarte tatin to rest on the serving plate.
- Serve warm with ice cream or crème fraiche.
