🥘 Ingredients
- sugar 200 g
- butter 50 g
- apples 5-6 large
- puff pastry 500 g
- flour handful
🍳 Cookware
- coffee grinder
- small saucepan
- 25-28cm baking pan
- oven
- flat plate
📝
Classic French upside-down apple tart with caramelized apples and buttery puff pastry. This recipe uses simple, accessible ingredients found anywhere in the world. The key is slow caramelization and patient layering for the perfect balance of sweet caramel and tender apples.
📝
The key is slow caramelization - be patient and stir continuously for even browning.
📝
Using two layers of puff pastry creates the perfect balance and prevents the tart from being overly sweet.
📝
This classic French dessert celebrates the joy of improvisation in cooking with simple, accessible ingredients that create something truly special.
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1Grind sugar into powder using coffee grinder - regular sugar works fine if no grinder available.
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2In a small saucepan with thick bottom, melt sugar on medium heat, stirring continuously until it turns light brown caramel. After 10 minutes when light brown caramel forms with just few lumps remaining, remove from heat and stir until dissolved.
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3Add butter to hot caramel and stir continuously until fully incorporated - caramel may bubble and splatter. Pour into 25-28cm baking pan and spread evenly. Cool for 20-30 minutes .
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4Preheat oven to 150-160°C. Peel apples , cut in half, remove cores. Arrange cut-side up tightly and symmetrically in cooled caramel. Bake for 1 ½ hours at low temperature to maintain apple shape.
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5Remove from oven and cool until touchable ( 30 minutes ). Increase oven to 180°C.
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6Roll out puff pastry with flour to 5mm thickness. Layer first piece over apples, trim edges, fold pastry edges inward to "hug" the apples and tuck into caramel. Add second layer of pastry for better texture and less sweetness, repeat process.
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7Bake for 45 minutes until golden and puffed. Cool completely, then refrigerate overnight with flat plate and weight on top for best results.
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8To serve: heat pan on stovetop for 20-40 seconds to loosen caramel, then quickly and carefully invert onto serving plate to reveal the beautiful caramelized apple layer.