Here are some recipes from the chefs, adapted for home
use:
Summer Fruits Tarte Tatin
Makes 2 tarts, to serve 6
High summer in Tuscany offers an abundance of forbiddingly
luscious stone fruits. Apricots and plums particularly
are at their best at this time. Magnificent golden plums
blushed red by the Tuscan sun and richly favoured apricots
take centre stage for this variation on a classic French
dessert. When the tart is inverted, the raspberries nestled
between the fruits provide tremendous vibrancy.
You will need:
-
7/8
cup butter
- 7/8 cup caster sugar
- 6-8 large plums, preferably the red/gold variety,
cored and cut into halves
- 6-8 large apricots, cored and cut into halves
- 1 cup of fresh or
¾ cup of whole frozen raspberries
- 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
- 2 vanilla pods, split lengthways
- 2 x 18 cm puff pastry discs rolled to a thickness
of 3 mm
- vanilla ice cream, to serve |
Using 2 x 15 cm high-sided heavy based pans suitable for
stove top cooking, spread about 3/8 cup of the butter
over the base of each pan. Sprinkle about 3/8 cup sugar
over the butter in each pan, then place plums and apricots
halves, core-side facing up, on top of the butter and
sugar in each pan, then place raspberries between the
fruit halves so they can be seen when the tart is inverted.
Place a cinnamon stick piece and vanilla pod in between
the fruit in the shape of a cross.
Stretch the pastry over the fruit pushing the pastry down
between the fruit and the sides of the pans. Prick the
pastry 4-5 times with a fork, and then leave the tarte
tatins to rest for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 180C. To cook the tarte tatins, begin
to caramelize the sugar and the butter over a medium-high
heat. You won't be able to see the full extent of the
sugar colouring but if you gently swirl the pan, you will
get glimpses down the side of the pastry - it should take
4-5 minutes. Transfer to the hot oven and cook until the
pastry is golden brown, about 18-22 minutes. Remove from
the oven and leave to stand 1 hour to allow the flavours
to amalgamate. Invert onto a serving platter. Serve with
vanilla ice cream or clotted cream. |
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