Marcus Wareing’s foolproof apple tarte tatin recipe with caramelised apples and nutmeg cream

Marcus Wareing reveals the secret to a perfect apple tarte tatin – caramelised apples – and shares his foolproof recipe, paired with a spiced nutmeg cream

Lauren Taylor
Tuesday 03 December 2024 01:00 EST
Comments
An impressive-looking French dessert for hosting
An impressive-looking French dessert for hosting (Matt Russell)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

“My first ever attempt at making an apple tarte tatin was in a competition at The Savoy hotel in London – talk about being thrown in at the deep end! It did not go well,” admits Marcus Wareing.

“I had no idea that the apples needed to be caramelised, which I soon realised is the key to a perfect tarte tatin. I’m happy to say that I’ve mastered the technique since then and this recipe is both foolproof and delicious.”

Apple tarte tatin with nutmeg cream

Serves: 6-8

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

1 x 320g sheet of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry

Plain flour, for dusting

100g cold butter, softened

100g golden caster sugar

2 cardamom pods, bashed gently with a rolling pin to release the flavour

1 cinnamon stick

6-7 Braeburn apples, peeled and quartered

For the nutmeg cream:

200ml double or whipping cream

A grating of fresh nutmeg

Method:

The new book is Wareing’s ‘journey through French food’ and what it’s meant to him throughout an illustrious career
The new book is Wareing’s ‘journey through French food’ and what it’s meant to him throughout an illustrious career (HarperNonFiction)

1. To make the tarte tatin, roll the puff pastry on a floured work surface out to about three millimetres thick and cut around a plate to make a large circle, just bigger than the pan you’re going to use to make the tart. Cut three small slits in the pastry for the steam to escape and move to a baking parchment-lined tray. Place in the fridge to rest while you make the rest of the tart.

2. Spread the softened butter in an even layer over the base of a 20-24 centimetre ovenproof frying pan. Cover with the sugar and spices in another even layer. Arrange the apples on top in a spiral, overlapping one another.

3. Preheat the oven to 210C/190C fan/gas 7.

4. Place the pan on the hob over medium-high heat and cook until the butter and sugar start to bubble and form a caramel, this will take around 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and then place the pastry circle over the apples, using a spoon to tuck the pastry in around the edges of the pan. Be careful, it will be very hot!

5. Bake for about 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for five minutes.

6. Meanwhile, make the nutmeg cream by whisking the cream until it reaches soft peaks. Spoon into a serving bowl and grate some fresh nutmeg over the top.

7. Run a small knife around the inside of the pan to ease away the caramelised pastry. Put a large plate over the tarte tatin in the pan and carefully flip both pan and plate over. Slowly lift the pan off to turn the tarte out. Serve with the nutmeg cream on the side.

‘Marcus’s France’ by Marcus Wareing (Harper NonFiction, £22).

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in