Calvados Apple Tarte Tatin with Crème Normande

⏱ 75 min · Serves 8

Deep amber caramel, apples cooked until they're almost jammy, and a lid of shattering all-butter puff pastry flipped over to reveal the lot. The crème Normande — lightly whipped cream loosened with crème fraîche and a slug of Calvados — melts into the warm caramel as you spoon it on. Worth every one of the ten minutes you'll spend nervously waiting to unmould it.

Per serving: 585 kcal · 4.5g protein · 66.0g carbs · 33.0g fat

Ingredients

• 8 medium firm apples (about 1.6kg), ideally Braeburn or Cox
• 200g caster sugar
• 80g unsalted butter, cubed and cold
• 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp Calvados (or brandy)
• 320g all-butter puff pastry (1 sheet), chilled
• 1 tbsp plain flour, for dusting
• For the crème Normande:
• 200ml double cream, well chilled
• 100g crème fraîche
• 1.5 tbsp Calvados
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Peel, quarter and core the apples, then toss with the lemon juice.
2. Scatter the sugar in an even layer across a 24cm ovenproof frying pan or tatin tin. Set over medium heat and leave it alone until it melts and turns a deep amber-copper — 6-8 minutes. Swirl the pan rather than stirring to even out any pale patches.
3. Off the heat, whisk in the cold butter a few cubes at a time, then the flaky salt and 2 tbsp Calvados. It will hiss and seize slightly; keep whisking until glossy.
4. Pack the apple quarters into the caramel standing on their cut edges, curved side down, in tight concentric circles. Squeeze in more than seems sensible — they shrink a lot. Fill the centre with any leftovers.
5. Return to medium heat and cook for 15 minutes, spooning caramel over the apples now and then, until they've slumped slightly and the caramel is thick. Remove and cool for 10 minutes.
6. Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 3mm and cut a disc 2cm wider than the pan. Lay it over the apples and tuck the edge down inside the rim all the way round. Pierce the centre twice with a knife.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is deeply golden and puffed and caramel is bubbling at the edges.
8. Rest for exactly 10 minutes — no longer, or the caramel sets. Run a knife around the edge, put a large plate over the pan, and invert confidently in one movement. Nudge back any apples that shift.
9. For the crème Normande, whip the double cream with the icing sugar and vanilla to very soft peaks, then fold in the crème fraîche and Calvados. It should just about hold a ribbon.
10. Serve the tatin warm, in generous wedges, with a big spoonful of crème Normande melting on top.