My mum grows the most beautiful organic apples and my kids love that caramel sweetness so tarte tatin is an easy, go-to recipe for our household each late summer.
I wanted to shoot some rustic food with a freshly-picked, home-grown 'garden shed' vibe on our new 'Jack' backdrop so this recipe offered the perfect opportunity to style and enjoy these leafy homegrown apples.
I've given the ice cream a slightly grown up twist by infusing the cream with rosemary before making into ice cream - it balances the sweet caramel, as does tossing your quartered apples in lemon juice before assembling them in your oven dish.
I hope you enjoy this sweet, sticky, creamy mess!
Shot on the 'Jack' wooden workbench effect photography backdrop
Ingredients
300g pre-rolled puff pastry
plain flour, for dusting
4-6 apples (depending on their size and the size of your dish)
Juice of 1 lemon
100g caster sugar
85g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
ice cream, to serve
Method
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
Roll the pastry on a dusted surface and cut in a circle approx 1 inch larger than your final dish. Lightly prick all over with a fork, place on a baking sheet and freeze while preparing the apples.
Peel, quarter and core the apples. Put aside in a bowl and toss in the lemon juice.
Put the sugar in a flameproof oven dish or an ovenproof heavy-based frying pan and place over a medium-high heat. Cook the sugar for 5-7 mins to an amber caramel syrup that’s starting to smoke, then turn off the heat and stir in the diced butter.
To assemble the tarte tatin, arrange the apple quarters very tightly in a circle around the edge of the final oven proof dish, rounded-side down, then fill in the middle. Pour or brush over the caramel - it will naturally fill the base of the dish too.
Bake in the oven for 30 mins, then remove and place the disc of frozen pastry on top. Tuck the edges down the inside of the dish and prick a few holes in the pastry with a knife.
Bake for a further 40 mins until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.
Allow to cool to room temperature (be wary of very hot sugar!) before running a knife around the edge of the dish and plating the other way up to show the caramel apples.
Serve with vanilla ice cream or infuse your cream with rosemary first to make an extra special rosemary vanilla ice cream!
Shot on the 'Jack' wooden workbench effect photography backdrop