Name: Tarte Tatin (upside-down apple tart)
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 5 large, firm apples (tart, e.g. Bramley or Braeburn, about 900 g); 1 tbsp lemon juice (for the water the apples sit in); 150 g sugar; 70 g butter; 0.5 vanilla pod (seeds scraped out); 1 round sheet of puff pastry (about 275 g, fresh from the chilled aisle); 1 egg yolk (optional, for brushing the pastry); vanilla ice cream or vanilla cream (optional, to serve)

Preparation

Peel and quarter the apples, remove the cores and keep them in water with the lemon juice until needed; preheat the oven to 180 °C (conventional).
In an ovenproof frying pan (about 26 cm), melt the sugar over a medium heat without stirring and let it turn golden brown. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla seeds until everything combines into a caramel.
Pat the apples dry and arrange them tightly packed, cut side up, in the caramel, then cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes to caramelise, pressing down lightly from time to time.
Take the pan off the heat and let it cool briefly. Lay the puff pastry over the apples, tuck it in at the edge between the apples and the pan and prick it several times with a fork so steam can escape; brush with egg yolk if you like.
Bake in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is cooked through and golden brown and the caramel is bubbling.
Leave the tart to rest for 5 minutes so the caramel thickens slightly, then place a plate on top and turn it out quickly. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream or vanilla cream if you like.

Drink with it

Fruit brandy · excellent match
Calvados Pays d'Auge, neat at room temperature
The apple brandy from Normandy repeats the baked apple, and its dry finish clears the caramel sweetness from the palate.
What is Calvados? Apple brandy with origin
Sweet wine · excellent match
Coteaux du Layon or Sauternes, well chilled
The wine is as sweet as the caramel, and its acidity and quince and apple notes keep the butter and pastry fresh.
Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberately
Cognac and brandy · excellent match
Cognac VSOP, neat at room temperature
Baked apple, caramel and butter are exactly the notes a VSOP carries in the glass itself; its oak spice lengthens the dark caramel.
Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy
Aged tequila · good match
Tequila añejo, neat in a nosing glass
The vanilla and barrel spice of the añejo meet the caramel, and the acidity of the apple keeps the sweetness in check.
Tequila Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo: what aging changes

Why it pairs well

Añejo is an unusual choice for dessert; its barrel notes (vanilla, spice) mirror the caramel, and the acidity of the apple keeps it fresh.

Preparation

Peel and quarter the apples, remove the cores and keep them in water with the lemon juice until needed; preheat the oven to 180 °C (conventional).
In an ovenproof frying pan (about 26 cm), melt the sugar over a medium heat without stirring and let it turn golden brown. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla seeds until everything combines into a caramel.
Pat the apples dry and arrange them tightly packed, cut side up, in the caramel, then cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes to caramelise, pressing down lightly from time to time.
Take the pan off the heat and let it cool briefly. Lay the puff pastry over the apples, tuck it in at the edge between the apples and the pan and prick it several times with a fork so steam can escape; brush with egg yolk if you like.
Bake in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is cooked through and golden brown and the caramel is bubbling.
Leave the tart to rest for 5 minutes so the caramel thickens slightly, then place a plate on top and turn it out quickly. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream or vanilla cream if you like.

Drink with it

Fruit brandy · excellent match
Calvados Pays d'Auge, neat at room temperature
The apple brandy from Normandy repeats the baked apple, and its dry finish clears the caramel sweetness from the palate.
What is Calvados? Apple brandy with origin
Sweet wine · excellent match
Coteaux du Layon or Sauternes, well chilled
The wine is as sweet as the caramel, and its acidity and quince and apple notes keep the butter and pastry fresh.
Which wine goes with dessert? Comparing sweetness deliberately
Cognac and brandy · excellent match
Cognac VSOP, neat at room temperature
Baked apple, caramel and butter are exactly the notes a VSOP carries in the glass itself; its oak spice lengthens the dark caramel.
Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy
Aged tequila · good match
Tequila añejo, neat in a nosing glass
The vanilla and barrel spice of the añejo meet the caramel, and the acidity of the apple keeps the sweetness in check.
Tequila Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo: what aging changes

Why it pairs well

Añejo is an unusual choice for dessert; its barrel notes (vanilla, spice) mirror the caramel, and the acidity of the apple keeps it fresh.

Tarte Tatin (upside-down apple tart)

Preparation

Drink with it

Calvados Pays d'Auge, neat at room temperature

Coteaux du Layon or Sauternes, well chilled

Cognac VSOP, neat at room temperature

Tequila añejo, neat in a nosing glass

This pairs well too.

American Apple Pie with Shortcrust Lid

Apple Crumble

Baked Apple in a Nut Coating (Bratapfel)

Baked Apples with Vanilla Sauce (Bratapfel)

Tarte Tatin (upside-down apple tart)

Preparation

Drink with it

Calvados Pays d'Auge, neat at room temperature

Coteaux du Layon or Sauternes, well chilled

Cognac VSOP, neat at room temperature

Tequila añejo, neat in a nosing glass

This pairs well too.

American Apple Pie with Shortcrust Lid

Apple Crumble

Baked Apple in a Nut Coating (Bratapfel)

Baked Apples with Vanilla Sauce (Bratapfel)