I had never thought of making a savoury tarte tatin until I saw them on the Great British Bake Off last year. Now I realise that the possibilities for these upside down tarts are endless. The reason they are just so wonderful is that the pastry stays crisp (no risk of soggy bottoms) whilst the filling has time to cook properly and become meltingly soft and delicious. There were two recipes from the show in particular that are now on my (ever increasing) baking To Do list: a sweet banana version and savoury stilton and pear one.
The idea for this particular version came about because I usually cook black pudding with apples and onions sautéed in a little honey. This tart is an even better version of that dish, with the crisp pastry crust adding extra bite. However, the pastry also makes it very rich, so its best served with a nice green salad in summer or some leafy greens in winter.
The one thing I didn’t understand on GBBO was why they had to make a proper caramel (by melting the sugar on its own in a pan) before adding the butter. It seems like they were adding complications to what should be a really simple recipe, and whilst I would probably for go to any lengths of faffing for a dessert, somehow it just seems unnecessary for a main course! This method of heating the butter and sugar at the same time still produces a good caramel as it continues cooking in the oven, and removes the one nail-biting step from the process, so it’s just a total joy to make.
Things I have learnt from making this tarte tatin:
Dessert apples, rather than cooking apples, are needed for this dish although any variety of dessert apple is fine. They will keep their shape and have the texture of caramelised apple purée when cooked.
It does look slightly more impressive if you arrange the ingredients neatly in the bottom of the tart dish, but to be honest it will still taste just as delicious if you scatter them in randomly. I would only bother with the arranging if you have the time/inclination to do so.
Make sure you turn the tart out whilst still warm, otherwise the caramel will set and the filling will stick to the tart dish.
There’s no need to have a fancy tarte tatin pan to make this, it will work just as well in any oven proof dish of similar dimensions. Which makes me very happy, as I’m rapidly running out of space for more kitchen equipment.
Black pudding apple and onion tart tatin: serves 3-4
300g rough puff pastry
2 dessert apples
1 red onion
200g black pudding
40g soft brown sugar
50g butter
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
A little milk for brushing
- Preheat the oven to 200°C
- Grease the edges of a 22cm fluted tart dish
- Heat the sugar and butter in a pan over a low heat, stirring occasionally
- When it begins to boil add the vinegar
- Boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring to prevent it from sticking
- Pour the caramel into the tart dish and set aside whilst you prepare the filling
- Peel, core and chop the apple into 5mm slices
- Peel the onion and chop into thinnish wedges
- Remove the casing from the black pudding and slice into rounds
- Arrange half the black pudding slices in the tart dish then arrange the apples and onion slices around them
- Once the first layer is complete you can just scatter the remaining ingredients evenly over the top as they won’t be seen
- Roll out the pastry to a large circle roughly the thickness of a pound coin
- Lay the pastry over the top of the tart dish, and tuck it in around the filling at the edges
- Trim off any excess pastry using a sharp knife to slice it off level with the top of the dish
- Brush the milk over the pastry and make a several small holes in it with a sharp knife to allow the steam to escape as it cooks
- Place in the oven for 20 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 180°C and cook for a further 40 minutes
- Remove from the oven and run a knife around the edge to check the pastry hasn’t stuck to the sides
- Place a serving plate over the top, then wrap a tea towel around both the plate and dish, and flip it over to turn out your tarte tatin
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