Well, Idiot/Savant put in a request for a Tarte Tatin a few weeks back, and I thought I’d give it a go.
First try? Not so great.
The caramel hasn’t really worked. Ideally it would sit high on the apples and form a delicious layer.
Also, the apples are way too soggy. Will cook for a few minutes less next time, and use the crunchiest apples possible.
Finally, I used a cast-iron skillet for the cooking, but didn’t clean it properly. You can faintly taste garlic or something in the butter.
That said? Chef Du Plunge and I ate about a quarter of it before Second Chef got home!
12 July, 2009 at 10:42 pm
I make Tarte Tatin every now and then, ‘though I cheat a little. For starters I usually use pears. I don’t have a dish that will go from the stove to the oven, so what I usually do is caramelise the sugar and butter in a saucepan, then pour it into the bottom of a well-greased quiche dish, and then arrange the pear (apple) slices on top, and then tuck the pastry over them. It seems to work okay. It also avoids the garlic after-taste problem.
If I have some on hand, I usually pour a little port over the pears as I serve each slice. Divine. It was my uncle’s idea.
The Chef du Plunge has a very sophisticated palate.
13 July, 2009 at 2:09 am
It turned out better than most of my attempts – your caramel at least looks solid, and it came out in one piece. Mine tends not to, despite repeated efforts.
Of course, even th failures taste good…
13 July, 2009 at 8:09 am
trick of the light. the caramel is non-existant!
will have another shot at getting better caramel out of the sugar after seeing a youtube.
and yes, CDP does have a sophisticated palate. besides the tarte we were also eating sardines and vegemite yesterday. [crosses fingers]
13 July, 2009 at 12:17 pm
will have another shot at getting better caramel out of the sugar after seeing a youtube.
URL?
13 July, 2009 at 2:41 pm
http://tr.im/rX5C i believe.