TATIN TART FROM PUFF PASTRY

It might just be the simplest tart in the whole world, but the final effect is incredible, especially when you compare it to the amount of time and effort you need to put into the preparation of this dessert. I prepare this tart quite often these day exactly because I do not have a lot of time on my hands but do have a yearning for something sweet. Moreover, chocolate is now out of the picture because Mr Owl is on a diet. There is not need to prepare the pastry on one’s own as it is possible to buy ready-made puff pastry. It saves a lot of time. Due to the fact that puff pastry and apple desserts are something that I prepare regularly, I was able to try out various versions, but I have to admit that the Tatin Tart is my strong personal favourite. This dessert is especially recommended when we are having unexpected guests and want to prepare something quickly. All you really need is puff pastry and some apples.

 

[caption] small tatin tarts

*recipe*

puff pastry

6 apples

100 g of sugar

50 g of butter

cinnamon (optional)

***

Peel the apples and cut them into quarters, or even smaller slices, taking out the core of course. Melt some butter and sugar on a frying pan and add the apples. What I often do is stew it in a covered pan, especially if the sugar, after turning into caramel, forms larger pieces which are not eager to melt again. Stir from time to time so that the whole apples are covered in caramel. Optionally, add cinnamon, or – as I sometimes do – use vanilla sugar.  Grease the tin with butter and put the apples with caramel inside, covering them in puff pastry and rolling its sides towards the middle. Pierce the pastry with a fork.

 a large tatin tart

Bake in the oven, heated to 200° C, for about 20 minutes. Flip the tart after cooking (using a plate or chopping board).

Bon appétit!

GOLDEN NUT AND CARAMEL TART

This one of my all-time favourites: it looks good, takes 20 minutes to make and provides heavenly pleasures for the palate, if you like very sweet stuff, of course. I found the original recipe in “gazeta kuchnia,” but already tried out many version with different types of nuts and dried fruit. Once I soaked nuts, raisins and apricots in vodka and that version has become legendary with my family…

***recipe for the golden tart***

tart:

200 g of flour
10 dag of butter
3 spoons of water
1/2 spoon of salt
1 egg (optional)

The pastry is more crumbly if you do not add the egg, but I usually throw one in.nut and caramel filling:

15 dag of sugar
14 dag of double cream (30% or 36%, both work well)
10 dag of shelled wallnuts
golden flakes

These flakes are made from real gold and are available from art supply shops (in Warsaw you will find one in Mazowiecka Street). There are some fake alternatives, but they are not edible, in contrast to the real gold which you freely eat. I got the poisonous version so far and have not yet decided to buy the real stuff.

You can prepare the dough from condensed sweetened milk that comes in cans. All you need to do is boil it for 3 hours. It tastes quite good, actually.

First we need to make the tart:

Mix and knead flour, butter, salt, water and egg (if you want to add it). That is basically it, for this is one of the most basic pastries, though open for modifications. You can skip the water or egg and balance salt with sugar. Once the dough is ready and smooth, form a ball out of it, wrap in foil and put in the fridge. You can always make some more and freeze it in for some occasion like unexpected guests or an unexpected surge of laziness. Cool the ball in the fridge for 15 minutes, but if it takes longer, do not worry.

Now we need to prepare the caramel filling:

Put the sugar in the saucepan and heat until it melts. You have to stir it all the time so as not to burn it. The sugar should become brown and melt, becoming lovely liquid caramel. At this point, add cream, but do it carefully, for it will foam and fly, all kinds of bizzarre things taking place in the saucepan, but only for a short time. Nevertheless, keep stirring. It may take a while for the sugar to mix with the cream. There is no need to worry – in the end you will have a nice and tasty caramel filling. Let it cool down and add cushed nuts.

In the meanitme take out the tart, roll it out so that it is half a centimeter thick and put it in the greased baking tin. Bake for ca. 15 minutes in 180° C.

The baking time can vary and you should always check whether it is nicely browned. Yesterday it took me even 25 minutes, but maybe the temperature was a bit too low. Do not forget to pierce the tart with a fork prior to baking so as not to allow any bubbles to come out. One more thing you can do is cover it with foil and put some beans on top. In this way, the sides of the tart will not sink.

This is basically everything. If you have the golden flakes and some time on your hands you can decorate the tart with them.