Fleur's Tarte Tatin

We’re back with another one of Fleur Weasley’s recipes! 

This vegan tarte tatin, also known as an upside-down apple tart or caramelized apple tart, is a traditional French dessert that is sure to sweeten up your afternoon and become one of your new favorites.

Tarte tatin takes its name from its creator, Stéphanie Tatin. She owned a restaurant with her sister in the town of Lamotte-Beuvron in the region of Sologne back in the 19th century. The legend tells us that an overworked Stéphanie forgot to put the pastry in the pan before baking an apple pie. Realizing her mistake, she added the pastry base on top of the apples before putting the tart back in the oven. 

Since then, many have tried their own hand at this dessert with much success. We’ll hand it off to Fleur, who will teach us her favorite way to bake this classic!

Hi everyone! Bienvenue au Shell Cottage for another recipe! 

How did my bouillabaisse turn out? Today, I will show you the French art of pâtisserie making! I'm afraid to say that even after years of living on the other side of the pond, I am still not used to your cakes. 

I discovered many of your desserts on my first visit to Hogwarts. Let’s just say the Hogwarts elves were not shy on sugar. Forget about your sponge cakes and your penchant for icing for a minute. 

Let me introduce you to the simple yet superb delight of a tarte tatin. 

Whenever I am homesick, I have a craving for tarte tatin. Iit’s comfort on a plate and it brings me back to my childhood. I loved going apple picking and baking tarte tatin with my mother. As soon as I start making it, my head gets filled with memories. Anyway, I digress. 

Revenons à nos moutons, or should I say, let’s go back to our apples! This recipe calls for a delicate touch. After all, it's all about the raffinement à la française. Something to please your sweet tooth with no risk of getting sick from overeating. Ça marche? Alors à vos tabliers!

The tarte tatin is traditionally made with a shortcrust pastry. Now, I’ve always liked an extra challenge (you don’t enter the Triwizard Tournament without being a bit of a casse-cou), so I prefer to prepare mine with a pâte sablée. I find the texture more interesting; it adds a certain je ne sais quoi.

Pâte sablée (pastry dough)

Utensils

• Rolling pin
• Aluminum foil

Ingredients

• 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons of water)
• 100g (roughly 7 Tbsp) of unsalted vegan butter, cut into cubes
• 200g (1 ¼ cup) of plain white flour
• 1 pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Whisk 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds with 3 tablespoons of water until it forms a gel.
2. Stir the flax egg, salt, and sugar together in a small bowl.
3. Sift the flour in a large bowl and add the butter.
4. Mix the flour and butter with the tips of your fingers until the mixture looks sand-like.
5. Add the sugar and flax egg mixture and mix with a spatula. With your hands, make a ball out of the dough. Knead as little as possible.
6. Set the dough aside in a cool place for at least an hour.
7. Place an aluminum foil sheet on your counter and sprinkle it with flour. Rub a rolling pin with flour as well as your hands.  ​
8. Put your ball of dough in the middle of the aluminum foil sheet. Start flattening it with the rolling pin. Sprinkle more flour on the dough whenever the rolling pin starts to stick too much to the dough. Make sure the diameter of your pastry is larger than the diameter of your cake tin so it lines the sides of your tin.

​
​Notes from The Protego Foundation: 

• Pâte sablée literally means “sandy dough” in French. We know it as sweet shortcrust pastry. 

• Leave the butter at room temperature for up to 30 minutes before starting the recipe. The butter will have softened and will be much easier to mix with the flour.

• If you’re in a rush, you can choose a ready-made shortcrust pastry available in your local store.

---

Tarte Tatin

​Utensils

• 9” inch cake or pie tin suitable for both oven and stove use (cast-iron dishes are great for this) or a cake tin + a pan
• Dishcloth large enough for your cake tin or pan
• Spatula

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 apples, depending on their size
• 80g  (roughly 5 ¾ Tbsp) of unsalted vegan butter, cut into cubes
• 100g  (½ cup) of sugar

Note from Fleur: Choosing the right apples is critical to mastering this recipe. Your apples need to be suitable for baking, i.e., they must keep their shape and shouldn't release a lot of juice throughout cooking. My apples of choice are usually Belle de Boskoop or Braeburn. Depending on where you live or on the season, there are plenty more varieties you can choose from as long as they have a firm texture. Do not hesitate to ask your market's produce expert for help. Trust me, you do not want to clean your floor from apple juice after failing to turn over the tarte tin. Granted, a simple Scourgify will do the trick; too bad I was too young to use magic when I learned this recipe!

Notes from The Protego Foundation: You also need to find vegan butter suitable for baking. Avoid the spreads and look for the blocks or sticks. For our UK supporters, we recommend the brands Naturli’ and Flora. Living in the US? Go for Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks or Miyoko’s European Style Cultured Vegan Unsalted Butter.

Instructions

1. Peel the apples and remove the seeds. Cut them into 8 slices. 
2. Cast Aguamenti to soak a dishcloth or hand towel with water. Place it on a tray or your kitchen counter.
3. In a heat-resistant cake or pie tin, pour half of the sugar and 60g (US ¼ cup) of butter. Place the tin directly on the stovetop. Stir until the caramel starts to darken but before it solidifies.  
4. Remove the tin from the heat and set it on the soaked cloth-covered tray to stop the caramel from crystalizing.
5. Place the apples on the caramel, arranging them, so they overlap to form a rosace.  
6. Sprinkle on the rest of the sugar and butter. Put back on the stovetop on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the caramel and the juice of the apples to mix.
7. Flip the pâte sablée or shortcrust pastry over the apples in one swift movement. Curve the edges and slide the hem between the apples and the cake tin.  
8. Poke through the pastry base in several places to prevent it from rising in the oven.
9. Bake your tarte tatin for 30 minutes at 210°C / 410°F.   
10. Wait 10 minutes before removing the tarte tatin from the tin. Do so by placing a plate on the tin and flipping it over. ​​

Notes from Fleur: 

• You can still make this recipe if you do not own a cake or pie tin suitable for both stovetop and oven use. After all, there’s more than one way to breathe underwater, and I’d rather perform a Bubblehead Charm than eat Gillyweed - not so tasty. Well, there’s also more than one way to make this recipe. Try this: cook the caramel and the apples in a saucepan, assemble the apples in the cake or pie tin, and pour the rest of the caramel on top. Et voilà!

• You know how wizards, witches, and magical people perform their spells with varying levels of power? Well, I've heard these ovens Muggles use can be unreliable. Their strength is different from one to the other and that can affect your recipe. So be sure to adapt the temperature and baking time to your oven or to the way you cast Incendio.

Note from The Protego Foundation:

• Enjoy this delicious tarte tatin while it’s still warm. Serve it with either a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream or a spoon of vegan crème fraîche! It also goes well with a mug of vegan butterbeer. 

À table!

​

Written by  Assya Ahouandjinou

---

Accio More Articles: