Pineapple and burnt caramel tarte tatin
Tarte tatin is one of those dishes that look impressive but takes minimal effort to pull together. I like to take the caramel to almost burnt, as the bitter edge of dark caramel helps to cut through the sweetness of the pineapple. Be extremely careful, though, as hot caramel can cause serious burns. A 30cm cast-iron pan is ideal. Otherwise, use an oven-proof frying pan or a round tart tin. With so few ingredients, using a quality all-butter puff pastry is key.
Ingredients
100g caster sugar
1 small pineapple, peeled, cored and sliced into rings
75g butter, diced
15ml rum
1 sheet puff pastry, trimmed into a circle just larger than the pan and refrigerated
coconut or vanilla ice-cream or creme fraiche, to serve
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
2. Add sugar to the frying pan in a single, even layer and cook over low-medium heat, allowing the sugar to dissolve without stirring. Move the pan around the flame if it's melting unevenly.
3. Cook the sugar to a dark brown caramel, then add the pineapple rings to the pan.
4. Cook pineapple for 3-4 minutes until caramelised, then remove and set aside.
5. Add the diced butter and rum to the pan, swirling gently, then allow the sauce to thicken over medium heat.
6. Arrange the pineapple rings on the base of the pan, then gently lift the pastry and cover the pineapple and caramel sauce. Tuck the edges in carefully.
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before carefully inverting the tarte tatin onto a plate.
8. Cut the tart into wedges and serve immediately with coconut or vanilla ice-cream or a dollop of creme fraiche.
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Rosheen Kaul is head chef of Melbourne's Etta restaurant, author of cookbook, Chinese-ish, and Good Food recipe columnist.
