Sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
3 crisp eating apples
120g/heaped ½ cup caster/superfine sugar
60g/¼ cup butter
1 sprig rosemary, leaves finely chopped
This dessert is deceptively simple; a breeze to put together, and achievable for a mid-week supper. You can make puff pastry, if you like, but – honestly – I’m not sure it’s worth it. The supermarket stuff is perfect, and you’ll mostly taste the apples and caramel anyway.
Serves 4 (generously)
1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan/400F/gas 6. Line the base of a pie dish with parchment paper. Cut a disc of pastry that is 1cm/½in wider than your dish, prick it with a fork a handful of times, and place in the fridge.
2. Peel the apples, then cut into quarters and remove the core. Slice carefully into the rounded side, like you’re preparing Hasselback potatoes, being careful not to cut right through.
3. Tip the sugar into a saucepan and melt over a medium heat until it’s a rich, amber colour. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Tip into the pie dish, and add the rosemary. Arrange the apples, ‘Hasselback’-side down in the caramel. Bake for 20 minutes.
4. Remove the dish from the oven and increase the heat to 200C fan/425F/gas 7. Being very careful not to touch the caramel, place the chilled pastry disc over the apples, and use a knife or a spatula to tuck the edges in. Return to the oven and bake for 25 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and a deep golden brown.
5. Remove the tarte tatin from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a board or serving plate over the top of the dish, and (holding it all firmly in place) quickly and confidently invert the dish, so that the pastry is on the bottom. Watch out for any hot caramel that might escape. Serve immediately with crème fraîche.