Individual Apple Tarte Tatins

Slofoodgroup Team August 04, 2019

Tahitian Vanilla Beans Compliment this Individual Apple Tarte Tatin in Just the most lovely fashion.

When thinking about “classic” desserts, Tarte Tatin would most certainly make an appearance on almost everybody’s list.
 
Although there are countless variations, Tarte Tatin is traditionally made by baking pastry dough over caramelized apple slices. The tart is then inverted and served “fruit side up”.
 
It requires just a few ingredients and is simple, delicious, and classic. But, as we see it, there are a few areas that could use improvement, which we’ve made right here.
 
To start, Tarte Tatin is typically made in a cast iron or other heavy, ovenproof skillet. Even if you own the right pan, it can be difficult to lift and invert the tart neatly when it comes out of the oven. We resolved this by making individual tarts in muffin tins, which almost everyone has on-hand. Neat little tarts emerge from the oven, and serving couldn’t be easier—no slicing!
 
Next is the pastry. Even the most experienced baker can struggle with creating the perfect, flaky pastry dough **raises hand**. This is where frozen puff pastry comes to the rescue. Simply unfold, cut out circles, and mile-high flaky crusts bake up perfectly every time (and one could say, taste even better than regular pie crust!).
 
Finally? We ramped up the traditional butter-sugar caramel with a scraped vanilla bean, which adds subtle, yet definitively more flavor, and those pretty black specks also enhance the appearance.
 
All that’s missing is a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade Chantilly cream!
 

Individual Apple Tarte Tatins

 
Ingredients

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tahitian vanilla bean
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 Granny Smith apple
• Vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream, for serving

 

Procedure

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Liberally butter a 6-cup muffin tin.
2. Unfold the puff pastry onto a work surface. Using a drinking glass or cookie cutter, cut 6 circles that are the size of the tops of the muffin tin cavities. Wrap the circles in plastic wrap and keep chilled till needed.
3. Cook the sugar in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, without stirring, until dissolved. Halve the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the skillet, along with the butter. Raise the heat to medium and cook until the butter is melted, stirring occasionally.
4. While the syrup is cooking, peel and core the apple and cut into 6 slices.
5. Place the apple slices into the skillet and cook for 8 minutes, turning every 2 minutes.
6. Place one apple slice into each of the muffin tin cavities, spoon a bit of the syrup over, and top with the puff pastry circles.
7. Bake for 12 – 18 minutes, or till the pastry is deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin on a wire rack for 2 minutes. Using a small spoon or angled spatula, carefully turn the tarts over in the tin, then transfer to your serving platter or individual plates.

Serving Suggestions

Serve warm or at room temperature. Top with ice cream or Chantilly cream!

Find some of the best Tahitian Vanilla Beans at an incredible value here!

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