I’ve found it all too easy, of late, to whip up a tarte tatin when that after-dinner sugar craving hits. Crunchy pastry, hot, sticky caramel and soft, sweet fruit. How could you not? Many folk are intimidated by this simple dessert and I’m not entirely sure why. Perhaps because it looks complicated? Well, it really isn’t.
With the easy-yet-tasty spiced caramel I’ve created, the recipe involves nothing more than melting it in a pan, topping it with fruit and store-bought pastry and baking it. The combination of spices is warming and goes nicely, I think, with the fruit.
And the great thing is that the caramel can be made way ahead of time and used straight from the fridge.
Apple is my all-time favourite, but with stone fruits in abundance right now, a nice bit of peach came to the party. I thought I’d trick things up a tad with toasted pine nuts – something that tastes great with the fruit and spices – and fresh basil flowers that not only look great, but add a herbal touch.
A healthy dollop of double cream is an absolute must.
Course | Dessert |
Servings |
tarte
|
Ingredients
Spiced caramel
The tarte
|
![]() |
The caramel can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge for at least a couple of weeks. The quantity above will provide more caramel than needed for the tarte recipe below, so you can increase the fruit and pastry quantity to make more or use the caramel on other desserts. Dare I say it's even nice simply spread on toast?