This Hairy Bikers easy tarte tatin recipe caramelises 300g of apricots under puff pastry, and it serves 6 at 355 calories a slice. Since Si and Dave first baked it in France for Bakeation, it has sat in Big Book of Baking, and it needs 65 minutes.
Si and Dave call apricots “sunshine on a plate” in their headnote, and they admit “the apple version is the best known”. So apples are fair game here, and the caramel base stays identical whichever fruit you set into it.
The caramel splits when the butter goes in, turning oily and grainy, which is the exact moment most people bin it. But Si and Dave say keep stirring for 2 to 3 minutes off the heat, because it comes back smooth and toffee-like.
Hairy Bikers Easy Tarte Tatin Recipe
Description
Fresh apricots sit cut-side down in a dark toffee caramel, then a disc of ready-rolled puff goes over the top. Bake 25 minutes, flip onto a plate, and serve warm with crème fraîche.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Get the pan right: you need a small ovenproof frying pan with a base about 20cm across, because anything wider spreads the caramel too thin. And Si and Dave name a tarte tatin tin as the alternative in their upside-down plum tart, so use one instead.
- Make the caramel: put 75g caster sugar in the dry pan over medium heat. Cook until it melts and turns golden brown, but swirl the pan rather than stirring it.
- Add the butter: take the pan off the heat and stir in 40g cubed unsalted butter. Keep well clear of the splashes, because the caramel is fiercely hot.
- Bring it back: keep stirring for 2 to 3 minutes as it cools, and it will go from oily and separated to smooth and toffee-like.
- Set the fruit: arrange 300g halved apricots on the caramel, cut-side down. Pick firm fruit over ripe, because Si and Dave warn in their peach version that soft stone fruit just goes to mush in hot caramel. Then leave the pan to cool for 20 minutes before the pastry goes near it.
- Cut the pastry: heat the oven to 200C, fan 180C, gas 6. Then unroll the 375g puff sheet, roll it 2cm wider and cut round a dinner plate. Buy all-butter puff if you can, since that is what Si and Dave specify for their peach and beetroot versions.
- Cover and prick: slide the pastry over the apricots and push the sides down with a round-bladed knife. Then prick the surface so the steam can escape.
- Bake and turn out: bake for 25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown, then rest it 5 minutes. Put a serving plate over the pan and flip it quickly with a folded tea towel. If any apricots stay behind in the pan, lift them out with a palette knife and press them back into place.
FAQs
Can I use apples or tinned apricots instead?
Yes to both, and Si and Dave name apple themselves, since their headnote calls it the best-known version. Swap in 3 or 4 firm eating apples, peeled and quartered, then add 10 minutes because they hold more water. And tinned apricot halves work out of season, so drain them and pat them dry, or cook their proper apple pie instead.
How does this compare to Mary Berry, James Martin or BBC Good Food?
Mary Berry and James Martin both build theirs on apples, and both run longer than this one. So the apricot is the point of difference, because stone fruit keeps its shape in caramel, much like their plum crumble filling. And BBC Good Food runs a plain apple version, while BBC Food carries this exact apricot one under Bakeation.
What other tarte tatin recipes did Hairy Bikers make?
Three more exist, and they are not all puddings. Then One Pot Wonders holds a peach one with rosewater and cinnamon, plus a savoury red onion and beetroot version. And British Classics has a banana tarte tatin they renamed an upside-down tart, which sits close to their pineapple upside down cake.
Why did my caramel go grainy?
Stirring dry sugar is what makes it crystallise, so swirl the pan instead and let the sugar melt on its own. And a pale caramel tastes of nothing, so take it to a proper golden brown before the butter goes near it. Once it is smooth, the 20 minute cooling stage matters, because warm caramel turns the pastry base to sludge.
Can I make it ahead, and how do I store it?
Make it on the day, because a tarte tatin sitting overnight turns the pastry soft underneath and the caramel weeps. But you can caramelise the apricots hours ahead and leave them in the pan, then top with pastry and bake when you want it. And leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge, so reheat at 180C for 10 minutes, though a proper treacle tart holds up far better.
