Tarte Tatin

The clas­sic French dessert tarte Tat­in is simple to make and, with its com­bin­a­tion of light golden puff pastry, soft juicy apples and deli­cious car­a­mel, is a fam­ily favour­ite. It’s lovely served hot or cold with vanilla whipped cream or ice cream, or in the case of a pear tarte Tat­in, with some lovely wal­nut or maple ice cream. This recipe makes four gen­er­ous portions.

Ingredients

• 40g salted butter
• 100g white sugar
• 2–3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into eight wedges
• One sheet of ready-rolled but­ter puff pastry

Method

1. Smear the but­ter over the base and sides of a cold oven­proof fry­ing pan (approx­im­ately 25–26cm diameter).
2. Evenly dis­trib­ute the sug­ar over the butter.
3. Arrange the apples, side down, start­ing on the out­side and work­ing into the centre. They will reduce in volume slightly as they cook.
4. If neces­sary, roll the pastry out slightly so that it cov­ers the top of the pan. Cut off any excess, leav­ing enough to tuck down the inside of the pan. Make a small hole in the centre of the pastry.
5. Put the fry­ing pan onto the stove and cook on a medi­um heat until you see the juices at the edges of the pastry bub­bling and turn­ing amber. To get even car­a­mel­isa­tion, gently swirl the pan over the stove element.
6. Once the juices are evenly car­a­mel­ized, remove the pan and put it in the centre of an oven pre-heated to 180˚C. Bake until the pastry is golden — approx­im­ately 15–20 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and leave cool.
8. To turn the tart out, place the pan back on the stove over a gentle heat. Swirl the pan — this just loosens the tof­fee base. Put a large plate covered with a fol­ded tea tow­el over the top of the pan, then quickly flip the plate and pan upside down, turn­ing the tart out onto the plate.
9. Let it cool slightly before serving.

Serves 4

About Paul Hoather

Paul star­ted cook­ing in Nel­son at 15, before head­ing over­seas to the UK and Aus­tralia. Return­ing in the 1980s, he became head chef of res­taur­ants includ­ing Cham­per­elle and La Spa­ghettata, before open­ing the icon­ic White House in 1992. his food can be described as mod­er Kiwi influ­ences from around the world. With a philo­sophy of fresh­ness, he even grows herbs and lettuces on the res­taur­ant roof. Hoath­er, his wife Louise, and their two dogs and avid hunters. Wheth­er it is a week away trout fish­ing in Nel­son or pheas­ant shoot­ing up north, they both like noth­ing bet­ter than pack­ing the tent and escap­ing to some secret spots.

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