APPLE TARTE TATIN BY SOPHIE RUSHTON-SMITH @thecornerplot

INGREDIENTS

16 Pink Lady or Braeburn apples, peeled and cored

250 g salted butter (best quality), at room temperature

250 g caster sugar

10 g ground cinnamon

500 g all-butter puff pastry

ADVANCE PREPARATION

Peel, core and halve the apples and place on a tray. Leave in the fridge for 48 hours to dry out (don’t worry about any discolouration).

METHOD

Heat oven to 165 degrees C fan (185 degrees conventional).

Beat the butter, sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl to form a paste. Smother the base of the tin with the butter/sugar mixture, taking care not to touch the sides.

Place one apple, cut side facing upwards, in the centre of the tin. Position a layer of apples, on their sides, around the central apple, packed tightly together. Add a second layer of tightly packed apples to fill the tin completely.

Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 5 mm and prick all over using a fork. Cut out a circle of pastry, using a plate as a template, large enough to cover the top of the apples, and place on the apples.

Cook the tin on the hob, on a medium heat, for about 10 mins, until the butter has melted and is bubbling but the sugar has not caramelised.

Place the tin in the centre of the oven and cook for 1.5 hours.

Leave the tart to cool in the tin for about 1 hour before inverting onto a plate. If the tart is cold, heat the base briefly to loosen the tart from the tin.

Serve with double cream or ice cream.

Recipe feeds 10-12