The original Tarte Tatin is said to have been created accidentally at the Hotel Tatin, in a French town south of Paris. While traditionally made with apples, using plums in this version is certainly no accident. Their juices combine with the sugar and butter to form a delicious syrupy caramel.
Mixing the varieties can give you not only a pretty multi- coloured tatin but also a depth of interesting flavours.
Ingredients
- 8 plums, mixed sweet varieties
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 package store bought puff pastry
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425F.
Roll out and cut a disc of puff pastry to fit a 9-inch cast iron pan, adding a ¼-inch overlap all around. Set aside in the refrigerator to chill.
Slice the plums in half and remove the pits.
In a small bowl, add the sugar and salt. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise with a knife, scrape out the seeds and rub into the sugar and salt with your fingers. Reserve the vanilla bean to decorate. Spread sugar mixture in a cast-iron pan over medium heat and pour in the honey. Once the sugar and honey are melted together, place chunks of butter evenly over the pan. Heat slowly so that the honey doesn’t burn, until the mixture is melted and bubbling. Remove the pan from the heat and add the plums cut-side down into the pan, being careful not to touch the caramelized sugar with your fingers as it will be very hot.
Remove the puff pastry disc from the refrigerator and warm slightly, until it is just barely pliable. Place the pastry disc on top of the plums and tuck in to the sides of the pan.
Place the cast iron pan on a baking sheet and set into the oven. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown and the caramel and juices are bubbling at the sides. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes, before carefully inverting on a rimmed plate to catch the juices.
Serve with ice cream or a dollop of crème fraîche.
