Tips or tricks for a tarte tatin?

[CaptainWarbeck]

I have apples, pastry and sugar and as of Christmas, a new pan that can safely go in the oven .

I've been looking up recipes though as I've never made one before and they all seem slightly different. Do you make the caramel with sugar+butter or sugar+water? And to cook the apples before, or for a bit in the caramel, or not at all and just hope for the best in the oven? Any pointers for a really good one?

Sugar and butter for the caramel. I have cooked the apples in the butter for a while or in the caramel for a short time when I have made it, although I do think you can just put them in raw if they aren't massively chunky.

Served with some thick creme fraiche for me, but quality vanilla ice cream is nice too.

OK my method is something like this. Was given to me by a friend who cooked in "handfuls" so no exact quantities.

Sugar and butter in the pan, heat up until it's all dissolved and starting to go dark. Then put in your 5 quartered eating apples, lay them out nicely in circles if you are bothered, and cook for about another 5 minutes, so the caramel bubbles up round them. Not so hot they burn. (but of course you will not know until later if they did!).

Roll out the pastry (I use puff pastry but this is not essential) into a round, lay it over like a blanket and tuck in round the edges. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Whack in the oven for whatever it says in your recipe. Turn out onto a plate as soon as it comes out, carefully, and pour any syrup back onto the tarte. Ideally it should look a rich gold colour. YY to creme fraiche.

One of the very few impressive desserts I can produce.

Okay I'm going to give it a go tonight! Will post a pic of success/failure. Thanks for tips.

So sugar and butter, put the apples in once caramelising (thinly sliced so they cook through), then cook with apples in for 5 mins before chucking on the pastry and bake. 👍🏻

Don't cut your apples too thin or they will just turn to mush

Noted emo

Well I used brown sugar which may have been a mistake because it went really dark... but was tasty!

No just cut the apples into quarters. They will cook honest.

Oh, you did it - fab!

A very impressive first effort & looks so yummy. It might be an idea to thin out the apples around the edge of the pan and squeeze in some pastry when rolling it over so that you get a bit more pastry showing around the circumference.

That looks amazing; I love tarte tatin. Now you have done a sweet one, please try Michel Roux' savoury red onion, chilli and fennel tarte tatin. Although I make the caramel with sugar and butter, not sugar and water: the latter went wrong. It's on the BBC website.

Melt butter and sugar, then add quartered apples. I then go round filling all small gaps with smaller bits of apple. Bubble away until the juices are a good golden brown then cover with pastry (poking pastry down the sides so as to hold any runny juices when baked and turned out) and put in the oven for 20 minutes. I don't bother with milk or sugar on the top of the pastry as that will be underneath when turned out (and quite sweet enough anyway).

If doing a Plum Tarte Tatin, try putting a small dab of marzipan in the hole where the stone was. It definitely adds a certain something to the flavour.

Now you have done a sweet one, please try Michel Roux' savoury red onion, chilli and fennel tarte tatin
That is amazing!

And HFW beetroot one is ace