Tarte Tatin

Hi there, my name is Sharon and I love all things beautiful - beautiful interiors, beautiful historical buildings, a good read, exquisite food and more...not sure why it's wacky wednesday, but today for the first time, I've been told how to BLOG!!! so here goes... I'm blogging....talking about food...congratulations to Jo for winning the Great British Bake off, she's just so quiet and sweet and she can bake!  A colleague and I were talking about how good we thought we were - baking wise, but not good enough to enter TGBB!!  I've made Tarte Tatin though and it's turned out pretty good, so I'll share the recipe with you - it comes from Larousse Gastronomique - the serious cooks BIBLE!  Hope you enjoy it, but if you have high cholesterol you might want to skip this - there's tons of butter in it!

Anyway here goes, don't say I didn't warn you:

Tarte Tatin:


Mix 200g of sugar with 220g butter.  Smear this over the bottom and sides of a 23cm tarte tatin tin or flameproof shallow baking tin (I used a fry pan and poured the mixture into a quiche dish - it worked perfectly!)
Peel and core 800g of apples (bramleys are lovely!) and cut them into quarters, trimming off all the pieces you don't want, then arrange them in concentric circles (just arrange them in a circular shape!).  When the apples are neatly packed in place, cook over a fairly high heat until the sugar and butter form a golden caramel. (I added vanilla paste for extra flavour here!)  The mixture will rise as it boils and coats the apples.  Romove from heat and leave until completely cold. (If you've done what I did and used a pan to fry the syrupy mixture first, now is the time to pour gently into the quiche dish so that the concentric circles remain in shape (mine did!!)and then leave to cool down completely.

Shortcrust pastry:
Sift 225g plain flour into a bowl and stir in a pinch of salt, add 50g chilled butter and 50g chilled lard or white vegetable fat.  Cut the fat into small pieces and then lightly rub them into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons cold water use a round blade or mix with the straight side of a knife until it forms a soft dough.  Chill for 30 minutes before using.

Cover the apples with the pastry, tucking it into the edge of the tin/dish so that the fruit is contained.  Bake in a preheated oven at 200C (400F) for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.  Place a serving dish on top of the tin and turn the tart upside down.  Remove the tin, serve warm with creme fraiche!