Apple Tarte Tatin is one of those classic French desserts that wows every time, even more so when you cook it on the Big Green Egg. It benefits from a very subtle smoke flavour.
Tarte Tatin is much easier to make than perhaps you might think. The caramel is probably the trickiest part but it just involves patience as it makes itself. Once it’s in and cooking you just need to be careful you don’t leave it too long as it will go from being perfect to being burnt very quickly, I’ve done it.
Give this one a try, you won’t regret it. You can substitute in other fruit too, I also do a flat peach tarte tatin.
Cooking Surfaces
Temperature
Ingredients
- 100g caster sugar
- 150ml dark rum, Mount Gay works well
- 1tsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract (not vanilla essence)
- 50g butter, cubed
- 3 x apples, cored and sliced into thin segments (Braeburn, Cox’s Orange Pippin or Adam’s Pearmain – other apples may be too watery)
- 1 packet of pre-rolled puff pastry
Method
Ideally for this recipe you are going to need a non-stick pan to use in your Egg. I use the Tefal Ingenio pans that have a removable handle, they’re superb.
- Setup your Egg for a direct cook with the stainless steel grid. Set your Egg to 200°C.
- Measure 150g caster sugar into a non stick frying pan about 22cm in diameter (narrower than your puff pastry).
- Add the 150ml rum and vanilla paste.
- Place the pan into your Egg and allow leave the sugar to melt (DO NOT stir, it will cause the sugar to crystallise).
- After 10-15 minutes, you will see the mix is bubbling and the colour of the caramel will start to change.
- Take the pan off the heat and place onto a heat resistant surface.
- Now lay the apple slices around the pan in a single layer, be very careful not to put your fingers into the caramel. Don’t worry if there are small gaps between the apples.
- Place the cubes of butter with a roughly equal spacing onto the apples.
- Place the puff pastry over the top of the apples and butter, cutting off any excess. If you can, tuck it in around the edges.
- Return the pan to the Egg and bake for about 30 minutes.
- The tarte tatin is cooked when the caramel is bubbling up around the edges and is golden brown. Be careful not to over cook it as it will go from golden brown to burnt black in minutes.
- Turn the tarte out onto a plate, be careful when doing this as the caramel will easily burn you.
Serve as it is, with cream or with ice-cream.
Notes
I make the Tarte Tatin in my set of Tefal Ingenio pans, they’re awesome. I wouldn’t be without them in my BBQ equipment store. They’re also brilliant for paella and stews on the MiniMax.