Spelt Tarte Tatin
Spelt Tart Tatin
It is apple season and so it would be rude not to make this fantastic autumnal dessert while everything is at its best. I had forgotten how good Tarte Tatin was until I made it for a dinner party job last week. The smells of apple, cinnamon and vanilla wafting through your kitchen are reason enough to make this. You can make it with a shop-bought puff pastry but spelt pastry is another level of deliciousness.
I managed to make the pastry without using 1/2 tsp of guar gum powder but I recommend it if you can as it makes rolling out before you lay it into the frying pan much easier. This is only for using spelt flour! I’ve made this many times now, so if you follow these instructions carefully then you should be on to a winner. I would read the whole recipe before you start to bake! Bon appétit et bonne chance!
Serves 10
Ingredients:
240g spelt /plain flour
100g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
130g unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 large egg yolk
1/2 a level tsp guar gum powder (optional and only when using spelt flour)
For the filling:
900g-1kg apples, peeled, halved and cored (Braeburn, Cox’s Orange Pippin or Adam’s Pearmain are all good varieties to use) and sliced
140g caster sugar
80g unsalted butter, sliced
Cinnamon stick, plus 1 cinnamon powder and if you don’t have the stick then a whole vanilla pod sliced in half lengthways
2 tsp vanilla extract
Crème fraîche for serving (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, TRUST ME!)
Handful almond flakes would also be a nice garnish but not essential
Begin by making the pastry. You can use a blender, cake mixer or by hand (although this will take longer). Add the flour, sugar and pinch of salt together and mix. Then slowly add in the cubed butter a little at a time. Continue mixing until you have a breadcrumb-like consistency.
Then add in egg yolk and after about 3 minutes or so the dough will start to come together. If it takes longer then you can add a little of the egg white, but just a little drop. Then bring the dough together into a ball, wrap it in cling film and into the fridge for about an hour to rest. You can make this in advance and it freezes well and in the fridge for 3 days.
Take the dough out of the fridge 15 minutes before you want to roll it. Prep the apples. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius and set a medium-sized frying pan that is suitable for the oven on medium-high heat. Spread the butter slices in the pan and pour over the sugar. After 1 minute, place the whole cinnamon stick or vanilla pod into the middle of the pan. Then lay the apple pieces into the pan with the curved edge touching the bottom. Try and lay them in a neat circle around the outer edge before working your way towards the middle. The apples should be stuffed quite tightly as they will reduce when baking in the oven.
Pour over the vanilla and dust over with the cinnamon powder. Now allow everything to cook for about 3 minutes until you can see the caramel start to bubble a golden colour through the gaps. Then lightly dust a surface with spelt flour and use a rolling pin to roll out the pastry. Keep the pastry about 1cm thick and make sure that it is just a little bit wider than the frying pan.
Carefully roll the pastry onto the rolling pin and roll it on top of the apples. Then tuck the pastry around the edge inside the pan. Cut three incisions into the pastry to allow the steam to be released. Then into the middle of the oven for around 35 minutes. The pastry should have gone a nice golden colour and be hard on top. Use a knife to go round the pastry to make sure that nothing has stuck. Then place a plate larger than the frying pan on top of the pastry.
Use oven gloves to help you flip over the pan and gently lift up the pan. The tart should fall out and look all golden and caramelised with the cinnamon stick on top (obviously don’t eat the stick but it looks pretty). Serve with crème fraîche and almond flakes if used. This keeps for about 3 days!