Recipes from "A Week on the Water": Tarte Tatin

Founder of Boutique Hotel Barges and "A Week on the Water" author, Hazel Young, is a graduate of the French National Cooking School in Beaune. She has run numerous cooking seminars and culinary cruises aboard her former barge Fandango, and planned the boutique barge's extraordinary menus for over two decades.

With Fall in the air, and the farmers market full of delicious apples, what better time to make this upside-down caramelized apple tart?

Tarte Tatin

Quick puff pastry:

• 2 cups white flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup very cold butter grated with a large cheese grater

Work in butter slivers, add water little by little and form a ball. Roll out and fold over by thirds a few times, as for puff pastry. Roll out and put in pie tin to refrigerate while preparing the apples.

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 firm apples, peeled, cored and cut in half
• 3 tablespoons Calvados apple brandy
• 3 tablespoons apple juice

Place sugar, brandy and apple juice in large heavy skillet over low heat, stir to dissolve sugar, add butter and allow to melt and bubble. Lower heat.
Add apples, dome side down, the liquid has to reduce to a caramel eventually. This is a lovingly tended 45 minutes procedure, the apples have to remain firm but cooked through each one coated in caramel.
Place your pastry on top.
Bake at (400ºF/200ºC/Gas 6) until pastry is golden, and caramel is sizzling underneath.