Upside-Down Apple Caramel Tart Recipe Offers a Simple Baking Solution

Many chefs consider puff pastry a baking item best purchased rather than made from scratch due to its intricate preparation, which requires significant time, patience, and precise temperature control to achieve paper-thin layers of butter within the dough. Commercially, this process is managed by laminating machines. When the butter melts during baking, it releases steam, causing the dough layers to separate and rise into a flaky pastry.

While good quality store-bought puff pastry is available, an all-butter option is recommended for superior flavor, crispness, and golden color. Many supermarket versions, however, are made with vegetable oils instead of all-butter, making them a more economical choice and suitable for vegan cooking, though they typically lack the rich taste of butter-based pastry.

Upside-down tarts made with sheets of puff pastry offer a straightforward baking method. The tart's topping is arranged on parchment paper, followed by the pastry laid over it and baked. This approach eliminates the need to pre-cook the pastry base. Additionally, a touch of honey or sugar caramelizes the edges, resulting in a chewy texture. The recipe suggests that savory toppings, such as sliced cooked beetroot with goat's cheese and honey, also work well.

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan/gas 6). Halve, core, and thinly slice the apples.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a large baking tray. Thinly slice butter and arrange it evenly over the center of the parchment. Sprinkle sugar over the butter, adding cinnamon if desired.

Arrange the apple slices over the butter and sugar mixture, covering an area roughly the size of the pastry sheet, leaving a 2cm border. Using the unrolled pastry as a guide for sizing can be helpful.

Lay the pastry over the apple topping and crimp the edges with a fork. Pierce the pastry a few times with a knife to allow steam to escape. Bake for 25 minutes.

Allow the tart to cool for 5 minutes before inverting and serving warm, ideally with vanilla ice cream.