It is distressing how easy it is to make a tarte tatin, particularly now that good-quality puff-pastry is readily available. I say 'distressing' because I may or may not have eaten three of these this week, all by myself (please note that the recipe below is meant to serve '2'). I think we can all agree that no matter how delicious, there is only so much sugar and butter one needs to consume in a calendar week...
3 Golden Delicious apples (I've also used Jonathons and Grannies)
1 tbs lemon juice
½ cup (110g) caster sugar
20g unsalted butter, chopped
Ready-rolled puff pastry sheet (must be real butter puff, not oil - if you can get Careme pastry, it's worth the money)
Cream, to serve
1. Preheat oven to 220ºC (200ºC fan-forced).
2. Peel apples, cut into quarters, remove cores (cutting each quarter at the core so it has a “flat” side), and toss the quarters in a large bowl with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the sugar.
3. Using a 20cm frying pan as a guide, cut pastry into a round slightly larger than the pan, prick with a fork.
4. Melt butter in a 20cm non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Cover with the remaining sugar. Cook over medium-low heat, shaking pan occasionally to spread around any dark spots that appear, until a rich caramel forms.
5. Place apple quarters into pan, rounded side down, arranging them around pan. Cut remaining apple to fill gaps. Cook the apples over medium heat for about 10 minutes until caramel is bubbling up in the pan, shaking pan occasionally to prevent burnt spots.
6. Lay the pastry over the apples, tucking any protruding edges around edges of pan.
7. Place the pan in the oven, cook for about 25 minutes, or until the puff pastry has risen and cooked. The pastry should be dry and flaky. Stand tarte in pan for 10 minutes before carefully turning out onto a serving plate (do NOT skip this step). Serve with cream.
