Classic salted apple tarte tatin

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Ingredients

400 g sugar
6 Granny Smith apples, peeled
1⁄2 t salt flakes
1 sheet Woolworths frozen all-butter puff pastry
Crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Cooking Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Melt the sugar in a 20 cm cast-iron pan over a gentle heat. Allow to cool slightly.

Quarter the apples and pack, cut side down, tightly on top of the melted sugar, then sprinkle with the salt.

Place the pastry onto the apples and tuck in the edges. Make a cross incision in the pastry.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Cool for 5 minutes, then carefully invert onto a serving plate.

Cook's note: Thanks to sous chef Nikki Pickup from La Tête restaurant in Cape Town, who gave me a lesson on how to make this perfect apple tarte tatin.

Your tarte tatin needs apples that are firm and won’t lose their shape during cooking. Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and Fuji are good choices. Check whether the apples are cooked by testing them with a knife – they should still have a bit of “bite” to them.

Don’t be intimidated by the flip!
Turning your upside-down tart onto a serving dish is nothing to stress about. Once it’s nice and golden, run a knife around the edge of the crust. Cover the pan with the serving plate, hold on tight, carefully flip it (it will be hot!) and remove the pan. The tarte will still be warm, so you can easily nudge the veggies or fruit into place. And it’s no biggie if the pastry crumbles slightly or your pièce de résistance is slighty off-centre – it’s meant to have that rustic look and will taste like a slice of heaven no matter any imperfections (which you can hide with a dollop of crème fraîche or scoop of ice cream.