I am smitten. When I read that one of my favourite blogs, Smitten Kitchen, had launched their first ever cookbook, I couldn’t sit still until I had ordered my very own hardbound personal copy of the pure genius that goes into each and every fabulously well balanced and perfectly seasoned recipe. In that honour, and due to plentiful leftover diwali fruit by the dozen (I blame my grandmother), and not to forget, plentiful time on my hands due to the City being literally locked down, I used my powers for good (well, and gluttony) to patiently roll out the pastry, slice them apples, bubble the salted caramel and eat it with a big scoop of purely indulgent velvety vanilla ice cream. Not a wasted Sunday in the least!
On a side note, is anyone else obsessed with puff pastry? It somehow manages to uplift my mood and make the world a happier, butter-ier place. Everyone who travels with me thinks I need a bit of, well, *help*, simply because I can’t resist purchasing a truck load of goodies when I see them- wonton wrappers, puff pastry, filo, truffle, fleur de sel, aaah the list goes on.
Serves 12
Ingredients:
1. 1 package puff pastry, defrosted in fridge overnight
2. 3 apples
3. 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
4. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small bits
Salted caramel glaze:
5. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
6. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
7. 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt (or half as much table salt)
8. 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Method:
1. Heat your oven to 200°C. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly flour your counter and lay out your pastry. Flour the top and gently roll it until it fits inside your baking sheet, and transfer it there.
2. Peel the apples and cut them in half top-to-bottom. Remove the cores and stems. Slice the apples halves crosswise with a mandoline. Leaving a 1/2-inch border, fan the apples around the tart in slightly overlapping concentric rectangles until you reach the middle. Sprinkle the apples evenly with the sugar then dot with the butter.
3. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges of the tart are brown and the edges of the apples begin to take on some colour. The apples should feel soft, but dry to the touch.
4. Meanwhile, about 20 minutes into the baking time, make your glaze. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, melt your last 1/4 cup sugar; this will take about 3 minutes. Cook the liquefied sugar to a nice copper colour, another minute or two. Off the heat, add the sea salt and butter and stir until the butter melts and is incorporated. Add the heavy cream and return to the stove over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until you have a lovely, bronzed caramel syrup, just another minute, two, tops. Set aside until needed. You may need to briefly warm it to thin the caramel before brushing it over the tart.
5. After the tart has baked, transfer it to a cooling rack, but leave the oven on. Using very short, gentle strokes, and brushing in the direction that the apples fan to mess up their design as little as possible, brush the entire tart, including the exposed pastry, with the salted caramel glaze.
6. Return the apple tart to the oven for 5 to 10 more minutes, until the caramel glaze bubbles. Let tart cool complete before cutting into squares.
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Feedback:
1. Apart from a bit of precision and patience while cleaning and slicing the apples, this recipe is a breeze, courtesy of the base being store bought puffy goodness.
2. The tarts didn’t last us more than a couple of hours, so I’m not entirely certain how well this would stay past a pay or so.
3. You can also try another version of the salted caramel.
