Ingredients

Serves 4

Apple Tart Tartin
Prep time: 7 min
Cooking time: 25 min

2 Braeburn, Granny Smith or Jazz apples, scored and quartered
1 sheet puff pastry(I love Carême puff pastry)
70g caster sugar
40g butter, coarsely chopped


To serve:
1 tub Wild Sugar Wattleseed ice-cream, vanilla ice-cream or crème fraiche



Wattleseed Ice-Cream
400ml pouring cream
100ml milk
5 egg yolks
Wattleseed (finely ground)
40ml glucose syrup
70g caster sugar  

Method

Apple Tart Tartin
Warning! You will need to be extremely disciplined around this sweet treat. For such a simple dessert, it really is delightful and will tempt even the most resilient. I love to use the Braeburn apple with its firm, juicy flesh and sweet tart flavour, it works a treat. Serve this with crème fraiche or if you’re up for the wonderful contrast between the hot tart and cold ice cream, try wattleseed ice cream with its notes of hazelnut and toffee. You’ll be hard pressed to beat this simple winter warmer. Tally ho! x Skye


Preheat oven to 190°C.

Scatter half of the sugar over the base of a cast iron or oven friendly non stick frypan.
Once sugar starts to caramelise, add the other half of the sugar and stir until all of the sugar has melted and is a lovely golden caramel colour.

Melt butter in saucepan. Add melted butter to the caramel and whisk to combine.
Take the pan off the heat and place the apples over the caramel.

Using a knife, cut a circle of puff pastry that is slightly bigger than the frypan used for the tart. Cover the pan with puff pastry and tuck the edges in.
Using a small knife, score the middle of the pastry so that the steam can escape.

Bake in the oven until the pastry is golden brown and puffed up (approx 25 minutes).
Take out of the oven and stand for a few minutes. Place a plate which is larger than the pan over the top and then carefully turn that lovely tart upside down, so that it lands on the plate. Make sure you are careful with the hot caramel as it can burn you.

Serve with crème fraiche, vanilla ice-cream or Wild Sugar Wattleseed ice-cream for sheer bliss.

 


For the more adventurous: Feel free to take on the tasty challenge of making your own Wattleseed ice-cream…

Wattleseed Ice-Cream
Grind the wattleseed in a mortar and pestle until it is super fine.

Combine cream, milk and wattleseed in a saucepan and bring gently to just below the boil, then remove from heat and leave to infuse. Meanwhile whisk egg yolks, sugar and glucose syrup until pale and creamy.

Gradually add the hot cream mixture, whisking to combine, then pour this back into the saucepan. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon over a low heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (about 84ºC on a digital thermometer).

Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl sitting in a larger bowl of ice. Stir to cool, and then transfer to an ice-cream maker for approximately 30 minutes until smooth and frozen.


Notes
• Wattleseed is an Australian native spice and tastes like hazelnut, coffee and chocolate. Skye’s favourite brand is Oz Tukka: www.oztukka.com.au
• If you can’t find Wattleseed, you could substitute cinnamon and make a gorgeous cinnamon ice cream using exactly the same technique.

Skye’s Wild Sugar Wattleseed Ice-Cream is available from her Wild Sugar store:
www.wildsugar.com.au  


Other good Australian native suppliers:
www.australianproduce.com.au  
www.playingwithfire.com.au  
www.tumbeela.com