Tarte Tatin

Apples caramelised in the pan, pastry laid on top, and the whole thing turned over at the end. The apples must be firm or you get sauce under a lid.

1000 g — firm apples

150 g — sugar

80 g — salted butter

250 g — shortcrust pastry

10 ml — lemon juice

1 pc — vanilla pod

Peel, halve and core the apples and leave them uncovered on a plate for an hour. Drying them out slightly is what stops the tart flooding.

Melt the butter and sugar in the pan and cook to a light caramel. Pack the apple halves in tightly, rounded side down, and cook twenty-five minutes on the hob until the caramel is dark and the apples are glazed.

Lay the pastry over, tuck the edges down inside the pan, and bake at 200 °C for twenty-five minutes.

Rest five minutes — no longer — then put a plate over the pan and turn it in one movement. Waiting longer lets the caramel set and the apples stay behind.