4 November 2018

Susan Attempts Tarte Tatin



Yesterday I decided to make an apple tarte tatin.  It's the French version of an upside down apple tart.  I thought there was a fair chance it would be a disaster and that the caramelised sugar would stick to the pan and everything would go horribly wrong.

The first problem was trying to caramelise the sugar on my halogen hob.  I am still unsure of the temperature levels with the hob so to start with I had it turned down too low and it seemed to take ages for everything to start bubbling and reduce down.  I plonked some pre-made puff pastry on top (the pan was red hot so it was tricky to handle) and put it in the oven.  The pastry puffed up and browned nicely so at least I knew there wouldn't be a soggy bottom.

Paul helped me turn it out onto a tray and I was very surprised and pleased with the result.  The tarte didn't stick to the pan and it was delicious.  I might do it again one day!


Last night we were relaxing in the sitting room watching television when Paul said he could hear an alarm.  Sure enough, there it was -  beep beep, beep beep.  We searched the bungalow high and low (Paul checked the attic rooms and garage too) but we couldn't locate the beeping noise.  Actually Kat and Paul did the searching while I continued to drink my wine.  Eventually I went to check on progress  and said, "it's coming from the kitchen bin!"


Paul looked slightly abashed and remembered he had taken the batteries out of an old carbon monoxide alarm earlier and thrown it away.  The beeping was the fault mechanism in the alarm, probably triggered by supper leftovers being thrown over it.



23 comments:

  1. Your tarte looks amazing. The bleeping problem made me smile. I would have carried on drinking my wine too!

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    1. I was very pleased with how it turned out.

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  2. There are far too many things that beep nowadays! That dessert is beautiful. -Jenn

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    1. Things seem to carry on beeping even after the batteries have been removed.

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  3. Would love a taste of that tatin. I sympathise regarding the beep. When you first move into a new property every noise like that is a complete mystery I hope I have found all mine now that I have been here a year.

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    1. Paul and Kat went all over the place trying to locate the noise.

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  4. The tart looks delicious!! Had to laugh at the beeping, we have had similar experiences!

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    1. It turned out far better than I expected.

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  5. Cue applause for the tarte tatin! You did a great job! What did you have with it?

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  6. Wow! your tarte looks great. I've always wanted to try making one but then chickened out. Main problem is finding a pan that can go into the oven. Don't want to buy one especially for it and not use it again !!
    We have three fire alarms and the tweet tweet nearly sent us crazy when all three went off on three consecutive nights when we arrived home from an overseas trip a few years ago.

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    1. Like you I have always been nervous about making a tarte tatin but I thought it was a good way to use up some more apples. And I've got an ovenproof pan!

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  7. Love puff pastry - I use it a lot, mostly to make sausage rolls. I have taught grandson #2 to make them and now he is an expert.

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    1. Do you make your own puff pastry? I cheat and buy ready made.

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  8. Lady M is an expert Tatin maker; I love them. I tried to get her to do a Fig Tatin this year but she refused. Whilst on the subject of Lady M, she uses our smoke alarm as a toast timer. It always comes-out perfectly black.

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    1. Paul's got one of those toast timers too.

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  9. Can I have a slice please - it looks so good.

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  10. Your tarte tatin looks very impressive! Know what you mean about halogen hobs as we have one in Crete and I find it 'tricky'.

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    1. I suppose I shall get used to it eventually. At least the hob is easy to clean.

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  11. It seems like quite a lot of faffing about.

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    1. Sometimes I like to faff about but yes, it might be a while before I make another. Next year I shall make cider with the apples which will involve a whole load more faffing about!

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