Comments on: Tarte Tatin / Upside Down Apple Tart

By: rina

rina — Mon, 22 May 2006 00:57:30 +0000

grin….grin….grin….sorry can’t help it, I just had another shopping victory yesterday…a $10 cast iron tarte tatin pan by le cuistot (the le creuset one would have been better, but i’m not complaining!)

By: Marketman

Marketman — Sun, 21 May 2006 01:07:22 +0000

mgr, the apples have to be incredibly crisp and fresh to start with. Then I have them on the stove top gently gurgling until they turn that nice brown caramel you seek. It takes patience… Locally, you can try the green granny smiths or very fresh fujis. Mushiness is a problem but frankly I like them a bit mushy. The key difference between our attempts here and a European Tarte is mostly the apples themselves… Also, I find a cast iron pan is critical somehow…

By: mgr

mgr — Sat, 20 May 2006 19:13:58 +0000

I’ved tried different apples already but still can’t seem to get the dark caramelized color of the apples. The juice from the apples waters down the syrup making it more pale and mushy. I tried less time stovetop, more time, less oven time as the puff pastry closes in on the apples making it more mushy..I wanted to achieve the “malagkit” apples affect like the one I had in Rome ( La Campana restaurant)but was unable to duplicate..help..

By: relly

relly — Wed, 03 May 2006 08:35:53 +0000

wow, market man one of my favorite french tarte! usually serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.. bravo!!

By: Pilinut

Pilinut — Mon, 01 May 2006 06:49:11 +0000

Hi, MM!
I thoroughly enjoy a good tarte Tatin, too. And I think that a good crisp Granny Smith is probably the best readily-available apple for this dish. Fujis don’t usually have enough flavor.

I use the recipe from “Le Site Officiel de la Tarte Tatin”. Very similar to yours, with 150g butter + 125g sugar + 1 kg apples.

I’ve tried using a good pie crust pastry (NOT a cookie crust pastry, but a proper flaky pastry turned and rolled one more time than usual to give it a bit more resiliency) and it was actually better eating than the all-butter puff pastry I had been using previously. (Dufour brand, available frozen in the U.S.) Not as spectacular to look at as puff pastry, but somehow better in the mouth.

By: Mona Caccam

Mona Caccam — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 07:15:19 +0000

Hi, Marketman! I have been forever looking for ready-made puff pastry. When I was living in Melbourne it was so easy to find them in the frozen section, so I was so motivated to make curry puffs and desserts. Pag dating ko sa Manila… with all the heat I couldn’t bring myself to even try making the pastry from scratch at home. Finally! There is a Santi’s here along Escriva Drive and I plan to check if they have some in stock. Enjoy your Europe trip!

By: Marketman

Marketman — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 05:27:36 +0000

Oh yum, rina that sounds superb. And I have a huge Dole white onion that is more akin to a vidalia than anything else locally available. But I am getting on the plane soon so I don’t have time…bummer, maybe when I get back I will try the savory version. I can see a few anchovies as well… Chris, you are right, I used the version that needed to be rolled out…Sheila, glad you are enjoying the site so much you are risking eyebags…heehee.

By: rina

rina — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 04:46:59 +0000

i think the brand that’s in santis is Pampas puff pastry…

MM, have you tried making a savoury tarte tatin? tried one with sweet vidalia onions, very nice!

By: fried-neurons

fried-neurons — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 21:47:18 +0000

Mmmmm! Tarte tatin!

Yum!

I tried making that once. My friend kept reminding me to use an oven thermometer because I had an older oven at the time. I didn’t listen. The dough ended up burned.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 17:31:40 +0000

Tarte tatin! One of my favourites. One tip for those buying frozen puff pastry, there are two kinds available at Santis: the ready-rolled ones that come in packs of 6-7 sheets, and a dough of about 350G that you still have to roll out. For tarte tatin, the unrolled dough would be a better choice. The former, I find, is rolled out too thinly and is better suited for small appetizers or as a wrap. So roll the dough yourself to about 1/3″ thickness. It’ll puff up more beautifully.