January 5, 2005
Tarte Tatin Caramel au Beurre Salé
[Tarte Tatin with Salted Butter Caramel]
This is the dessert I made for our New Year's Eve dinner.
We had decided to have a luxurious picnic rather than an elaborate meal, so we had toasts of foie gras (brought back from our vacation in the Périgord), a fruity duck magret salad whipped up by our neighbor Stéphan, and some Coquilles St-Jacques, lovingly hand-opened by Maxence and myself, simply sauteed and served with matchstick raw veggies (black radish, carrot and zucchini). In passing, this brilliant accompaniment idea gave me my first mandolin-induced injury, and allowed my friends to rise up to the occasion and finish the vegetable cutting while I watched from the safety of a bar stool, slightly queasy and hugging my bandaged thumb.
It would have been very much out of character for us if we hadn't had a little cheese, too -- after the usual ceremonial of "oh no I couldn't possibly", closely followed by "if you have some I might join you for just a teeny slice", ending up in the final "oh boy this is so good, you have to try that Brie de Melun!" and "is there any more bread?".
For dessert, I was going to make a pineapple tarte tatin, but when I told Maxence he paused, cleared his throat and asked in his most diplomatic tone if I could maybe just make a regular apple one? Pretty please? He is a strong believer that some things just can't be improved upon and that there is usually a reason for classics to be classics.
I was hesitant because I had already made a classic tarte tatin for new year's eve two years ago and could I still look at myself in the mirror if I repeated the same recipe on the same occasion and for the same guests? But I figured I was probably the only one who remembered, and if anyone else did, it was probably that they had liked the tarte tatin in the first place, no?
So I went with Maxence's wish (a good omen for 2005, he probably reflected) and took out my little notebook in which I preciously hold my mother's recipe, as dictated to me a while back. I chose to use salted butter in the caramel that coats the pan, and this lent a wonderful caramel au beurre salé flavor to the warm, soft apples and the crispy tender crust. Mmm... Maxence sure has a point.
And um, did I mention we had a fabulous chocolate cake made by Ludo to go with that? Ahem. An auspicious start to the year, indeed.
Tarte Tatin Caramel au Beurre Salé
- 5 apples (I use the Canada kind)
Crust:
- 170 g (1 1/3 C) flour
- 85 g (1/3 C) sugar (preferably unrefined cane sugar)
- 85 g (3/4 stick) salted butter, at room temperature (I use "demi-sel")
- a little milk
Caramel:
- 70 g (1/4 C) brown sugar
- 35 g (1/3 stick) salted butter at room temperature, diced
(Serves 6 to 8.)
In a medium mixing-bowl, combine 85 g of sugar and 85 g of butter with a fork. Add in the flour, and keep mixing with the fork. When the dough forms even crumbs, add in a dash of milk, and knead the dough with your hands to form a ball. If the dough does not come together after about a minute, add in a tad more milk and knead again. The idea is to add the milk little by little to stop at just the right dough consistency (if you've added too much and the dough gets impossibly sticky, compensate with flour). Wrap in shrink wrap and put in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
Butter the sides of a 25-cm (10-inch) cake pan.
Put 70 g of brown sugar in a small nonstick saucepan, and put over medium-low heat until the sugar melts. As soon as it's melted (work quickly to avoid overcooking the caramel, which would result in a slight bitterness), remove from heat, add in 35 g of butter and stir to form a paste. Pour this paste in the cake pan, and use the back of a spoon to spread it over the bottom. It's okay if the bottom is not entirely covered, but try to make it as even as you can. Set aside.
Rinse, peel, and cut the apples in eighth. Arrange the apple pieces prettily over the caramel in the pan.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F).
Take the ball of dough out from the fridge, lightly flour a clean work surface, and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out in a circle slightly larger than the pan. Transfer the circle of dough over the apples, and tuck in the outer rims. Prick the dough in a few places with a fork.
Put into the oven to bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the dough turns golden and your home is filled with wonderful caramely apple fumes.
Take the pan out of the oven, run a knife around the sides of the pan and flip it onto a serving dish. If one or two apple pieces have stuck to the bottom of the pan, just put them back where they belong on the tart.
Serve warm (not piping hot) on its own, or with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream or a dollop of crème fraîche/sour cream/yogurt.
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Comments (23)
Permalink | Posted by clotilde in Desserts & Sweets - Recipe Inside!
brilliant! You just melt the sugar and butter and the caramelization occurs later, in the oven, thus avoiding this bitter taste of burnt caramel. I had given up making tarte tatin because of that. I will try again, for sure!
Posted by estelle2 on January 5, 2005 2:24 PMSounds like a delicious meal to ring in the new year, but I hope your thumb is okay. Ouch!
Posted by Melissa Schneider on January 5, 2005 4:06 PMClotilde,
Should the butter be cold or room temperature?
Posted by Angela on January 5, 2005 9:01 PMThe perfect solution for caramelized pineapple pastry cravings for people with traditionalist french boyfriends:
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Makes one 10 1/2-inch cake
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1 whole pineapple (about 3 1/2 pounds), outer skin removed and uncored
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 cup heavy cream, well chilled
2 tablespoons dark rum
1. Heat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place cherries in a small heat-proof bowl. Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour over dried cherries, and soak for 10 minutes. Drain well, and coarsely chop. Using a wide Japanese mandoline, slice whole pineapple as thinly as possible. Set aside. Sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
2. Heat 1/2 cup of granulated sugar in a 10 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet. Cook until deep amber, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Spread caramel evenly to coat the bottom of the skillet, and sprinkle with dark-brown sugar.
3. Center one piece of pineapple in the skillet. Place pineapple slices in a tightly overlapping circle. Make a second ring, completely covering the bottom and continuing at least halfway up the sides. Place one remaining slice in the center of the skillet on top of the circles. (Be certain that there are no gaps as the bottom will be the top upon inversion).
4. In a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream remaining butter, remaining 3/4 cup of granulated sugar, and vanilla-bean scrapings. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour in milk and almond extract. Slowly add sifted flour, scraping sides as needed. Using a rubber spatula, fold in chopped cherries. Pour batter into pineapple-lined skillet. Spread batter evenly with an offset spatula.
5. Place skillet on a prepared baking sheet, and transfer baking sheet to oven. Bake until golden brown and cake tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, pour cream into the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Add rum. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form, 45 to 60 seconds. Remove cake from oven, and pour excess liquid from skillet into a measuring cup. Carefully invert onto large cake plate, and pour reserved liquid over cake. Serve with rum-spiked whipped cream.
(recipe from the martha stewart site)
The fun thing about this dessert is that everyone with an immigrant grandma says this is the one american sweet she knew how to make. It's the official dessert of immigrant grandmas.
Posted by goody on January 5, 2005 11:21 PMOoh, this reminds me of my FAVORITE ice cream flavor at a little shop here in Columbus, OH. It is Salted Caramel with Smoked Almonds, and boy, is it good! For locals, you can get it in the North Market downtown...
Posted by Caroline on January 5, 2005 11:52 PMI agree with the awards people on your site. You write with elegance and certainly have a passion for cooking. Fabulous would be too weak a word. Keep it coming.
Posted by Mary on January 6, 2005 1:55 AMHi Clotilde, I found you via the BOB awards and I'm already scouring your archives. I would love to see an RSS feed on this site so that I can add you to my "My Yahoo" page. Please?
xx Jenny
Posted by Jenny on January 6, 2005 5:08 AMAngela - Room-temp for the dough, indifferent for the caramel!
Goody - Thanks for the recipe: I've often heard about this cake, but never tried it. I must now!
Mary - Thanks for the kind comment!
Jenny - If you look on the left nav bar, in the "features" section, you will find a link to two rss feeds: one with abstracts, one with full entries.
Posted by clotilde on January 6, 2005 8:32 AMClotilde -
Posted by sara on January 6, 2005 4:39 PMmmmmm - one of my favorites! But I have two questions: 1/ have you tried this with pears and 2/ does it matter what kind of pan you use for the sugar-butter caramel? (I remember once trying to make caramel sauce in a non-stick and never succeeding)
merci!
Sara
Oh my! I feel your pain. I got a mandoline for Christmas, and the day after New Years I cut my thumb on the julienne blade....
Posted by heather on January 6, 2005 8:48 PMscared me to death.... but now I know not to try to reassemble the blades while they are damp. I hope you are well :)
I read your blog all of the time :)
Happy New Year Clotilde! Congratulations on your well deserved award. Your website is such a warm, interesting place to escape to after a busy day. Thank you for creating such a special space!
Posted by Sarah on January 6, 2005 11:21 PMBoy am I glad to know I'm not the only one who has managed to cut herself with a mandoline! I bought one with the idea that I would finally rid myself of cut fingers and promptly acquired two sliced digits!
Great recipe, Clotilde - I am definitely going to try it because it's always been one of my favourites in restaurants!
Posted by Meg on January 7, 2005 8:54 AMmmhh! pineapple tarte tatin! while i agree with maxence that often the simplest is best, we have a new patissier here in london (william hurley) who makes the most delicious (individual) spiced pineapple tarte tatins. The unusual flavour combination with vanilla, pepper, cardamom, cinnamon and star anise (there might be others I am not aware of) is something you just have to try to believe it - but it is heavenly! I might just try to make one using your recipe as a basis... thanks!
Posted by johanna on January 7, 2005 4:11 PMoh, yum.
Posted by josephine on January 7, 2005 6:42 PM.....and, I am making this as soon as an occasion arises. Maybe sooner. It sounds and looks so delicious.
Posted by Alisa on January 8, 2005 9:20 PMI made this for a dinner party last weekend and was very pleased with the result. I increased the amount of caramel by half (I love caramel) with no ill effect and used very tart Granny Smith apples to balance out the extra caramel. Thanks for the recipe!
Posted by Charles on January 20, 2005 2:43 PMbeurre salé or "demi-sel" please ?
Posted by Isabelle on January 25, 2005 4:52 PMSara - I haven't tried this with pears, but my mom has, successfully. The trick is to use a kind of pear that is not too juicy, and use them when they're just barely ripe, otherwise they "leak" too much juice. As for the pan, I do use a nonstick pan, I'll mention it in the recipe.
Isabelle - I use "demi-sel" myself! I've updated the recipe to mention it.
Posted by clotilde on January 25, 2005 5:04 PMWhen I saw this recipe, I knew it was a perfect excuse to buy some butter from my favourite French Butter Guys at Borough Market (London). My tart turned out beautifully - thanks, Clotilde!
Posted by Julsb on January 31, 2005 3:26 PMi jusst made this with very ripe pineapple. it was so fast/easy and tastes fantastic. thanks for adding to me repetoire!
Posted by evie on January 31, 2005 9:20 PMclotilde.
Posted by sweta on September 8, 2006 8:13 PMi tried making this recipe this last weekend... it was really good even though i didnt have very much luck with the caramel sauce. i finally used homemade caramels to make the sauce.
i am wondering about why i couldnt get the caramel sauce and have a question.
what kind of brown sugar does the recipe call for... i used what we in the US call brown sugar, is that different from yours? mine turned hard as soon as it melted.
thanks for the recipe, the crust was really really good.
Sweta,
I had the same problem with the caramel. I ended up crumbling the hardened caramel and dumping in the extra melted butter and putting the apples on top, hoping it would all magically remedy itself while baking. My tart just went into the oven, so I can't say yet whether it's worked or not, but I too am wondering if there may be a difference in our "brown" sugars.
Posted by Kristina on June 16, 2007 1:13 AMI just made this from your book and it was the hit of the evening. It came out wonderfully.
I had been going to make an apple cake recipe that calls for calvados, but then I decided to make this, so I added the calvados I'd already bought to some whipped cream and served it alongside. It was very good.
I think this is my new favorite apple dessert recipe, and I will make it regularly. Thank you!
Posted by Deirdre on October 7, 2007 5:00 AMPrivacy. The email addresses you enter will not be used for any other purpose than the sending of this message.