The two French Tatin sisters lived in a small rural town in France's Loire Valley. The eldest, Stéphanie, was a particularly gifted cook, her specialty being an apple tart served perfectly crisp, caramelized and melt-in-the-mouth. One day, she put her tart in the oven upside down... The pastry and apples were upside down, but even so, she served this strange dessert without giving it time to cool. The French call this dessert tarte des demoiselles Tatin...
It's a famous upside-down apple tart, made by covering the bottom of a shallow baking dish with butter and sugar, then apples and finally pastry dough. During baking, the sugar and butter create a delicious caramel which becomes the filling when the tart is inverted onto a serving dish. There's one rule that must be scrupulously observed when enjoying tarte tatin. It must be served warm, so that the cream melts on contact. For the French, a room-temperature Tarte Tatin is not worth the mold in which it was baked,
Ingredients for 4 servings
. 125 g. plain flour
. 75 g. butter
. 2 g. salt
. 52,5cl. water
. 1 egg yolk
. 3-4 pears (depending on size)
. 1000 g. caster sugar
. 40 g. butter
Preparation
25 minutes, cooking time: 25 minutes
Cut the butter into small pieces and mix with the flour and salt using your fingertips (you should obtain a mixture of fine breadcrumbs).
Add egg yolk and water, mixing to form a smooth ball.
Wrap in cling film and leave in a cool place for 2 hours.
Heat the pan over low heat for a few minutes. Pour 85 g of sugar into the bottom of the pan and allow to caramelize. Still on the heat, add 25 g butter cut into small pieces.
Remove and place the pears, cut into large wedges, on the bottom, domed side down in the caramel, pressing them together. Add a second layer of pears, rounded side up, so that they fit snugly between the first layer.
Sprinkle 8 g sugar over the top and spread 8 g butter, cut into small pieces, over the pears.
Unroll the pastry and cover the pears, tucking the edges inside the dish.
Place in a preheated 350°F oven and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes before unmolding onto a serving dish.
