Tarte Tatin is an absolute winner of a French dessert that's ideal for ending a dinner party with some serious style! It's a sumptuous celebration of apples and caramel, invented by a pair of French sisters and beloved by foodies everywhere ever since.
Now, a lot of people will tell you that tarte Tartin is tricky to make, and yes, it can be downright fiendish to get the recipe right. However, we're big fans of simplicity here at British Bakeware, and we've come up with an easy way to get the tarte right - you'll be amazed at how effortlessly it all comes together!
So, without further ado, here is our Cheater's Guide to Tarte Tatin...
Ingredients:
- 1 Packet of Ready-Rolled Puff Pastry
- 6 Medium Cox Apples (peeled, quartered and cored)
- 50g Butter
- 50g Golden Caster Sugar
- ½ Tsp Cinnamon
- Juice of ½ Lemon
Instructions:
Step 1 - Melt the butter in a medium grill pan, then stir in the sugar and cinnamon until the mixture caramelises. Add the apples and continue cooking on a medium heat for around 10 minutes, all the while basting the apples in the caramel. Remove the grill pan from the heat.
Step 2 - Unroll the packet of pastry and make a few small air holes in it using a fork. Lay the pastry over the apples, trimming any excess with a sharp knife or scissors, and tucking in the edges neatly around the apples.
Step 3 - Place the grill pan in a pre-heated oven for around 20 to 30 minutes at 200oC, or until the pastry is golden and delicious. To finish your apple masterpiece, run a knife around the edge of the pan, then place a plate over the top and quickly spin the dish over so the tart turns out beautifully onto your plate – voila!
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The humble meringue is exceptionally easy to make, and it lends itself to all kinds of desserts.
This recipe makes 8 small meringues, and once you've made them, you'll love how flexible they are. There are millions of different meringue-based desserts, including pavlova and Eton mess.
Still, if you're only looking for something simple, you can serve them with raspberries and cream, or add them to your next ice cream sundae. The choice is yours - whatever you do with them, the meringues are bound to be delicious!
Photograph by Ruth Hartnup (view original)
Ingredients:
- 3 medium-sized eggs
- 2oz (roughly 60g) caster sugar
- 2oz icing sugar
- Lemon juice
Instructions:
Step 1 - Preheat your oven to 110oC.
Step 2 - Grease a meringue tin or baking tray.
Step 3 - One by one, break the eggs into a bowl and remove the yolk, leaving just the egg white. This video reveals an easy, mess-free way of separating your egg whites.
Step 4 - Beat the egg whites together with a few drops of lemon juice. Keep going until the mixture turns soft and fluffy – the mixture should form a stiff peak when you remove your whisk from the bowl.
Step 5 - Add the caster sugar (one tablespoon at a time) while continuing to whisk the mixture.
Step 6 - Sift your icing sugar into the mix and fold it in with a spatula. Don’t add all the icing sugar at once – use half an ounce at a time.
Step 7 - Once the mixture looks smooth and fluffy, it’s time to spoon it out! Take a large spoon and heap spoonfuls of the mixture into your meringue tin or onto your baking tray. Alternatively, you could use a piping bag to create attractive shapes.
Step 8 - Bake your meringues for 90 minutes – they should be nice and crispy on the outside by the time they come out of the oven.
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This recipe from the amazing BakingMad.com is not only absolutely delicious but so simple to make. The marble effect of these little cupcakes will impress no end - just don't tell anyone how easy they were!
We've listed the ingredients for both the cakes and the icing. The icing recipe can be applied to a lot of other cupcake recipes, too, but it's particularly well-suited to these magnificent marble muffins.
Ingredients:
- 110g softened butter (unsalted)
- 110g unrefined golden caster sugar
- 2 beaten eggs
- 110g self-raising white flour
- 1tsp vanilla extract
- 1tbsp cocoa powder
- 1tbsp milk (whole)
- 25g milk chocolate roughly chopped
- 1tbsp water (cold)
For the Icing:
- 50g cream cheese
- 25g softened butter (unsalted)
- 110g unrefined golden caster sugar sifted
- 1tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 180C or gas mark 4 and line your muffin tin with 6 muffin cases.
Step 2 - Beat together the softened butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy. For ease you can use an electric whisk, but if not just be steady and thorough. Whilst beating, gradually stir in the beaten eggs until well combined.
Step 3 - Fold in the flour gently until the mixture has combined. Add 1-2tbsp of cold water to make the mixture a dropping consistency.
Step 4 - Mix together the cocoa powder and milk in a small bowl until the two are combined.
Step 5 - Divide the cake mixture in half between two bowls. In one bowl, stir in the vanilla extract, and in the other add the cocoa powder and milk mixture along with the chopped chocolate. Stir both until combined.
Step 6 - Fill the muffin cases with alternate spoonfuls of chocolate and vanilla mixtures until your muffin cases are evenly filled and both of the mixtures have been fully used. Using a skewer, drag it through each mixture to ensure the marble effect is thorough.
Step 7 - Bake in the centre of the oven for around 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin or on a wire rack.
Step 8 - For the frosting, beat together all the frosting ingredients either, using an electric whisk or by hand, for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is really smooth and creamy. We would recommend that the longer you beat it, the better the texture!
Step 9 - Once the muffins have cooled to room temperature, using a small spatula or a butter knife, spread the frosting on top of each individual muffin. Don’t be sparing! You can also pipe the frosting onto the muffins using a piping bag.
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