Quince & Apple Brown Sugar Tarte Tatin
Golden puff pastry, tender quince, rosy pink apples and a buttery brown sugar caramel. A proper autumn pudding that looks rather grand but is surprisingly achievable.
There are some recipes that come together exactly as planned. And then there are the ones that take you on a few twists and turns.
This Quince & Apple Brown Sugar Tarte Tatin began with a couple of quinces, some apples and an idea. I wanted the floral sweetness of quince, the familiar comfort of apple and a caramel made with light soft brown sugar. A little ground ginger went into the quince poaching syrup, although in the finished pudding it quietly stepped aside and let the fruit and caramel do the talking.
Then came the apples. An accidental supermarket purchase turned out to be Kissabel apples, with the most extraordinary coral-pink flesh. Suddenly, our humble autumn pudding had a rather spectacular colour palette.
There was a minor debate over which pan to use. My old non-stick pan had lost my trust, so a baking dish came to the rescue. Then a storm threatened to turn off the lights, and the oven. halfway through proceedings. But the pastry puffed, the caramel bubbled, the sun came out and, somehow, the whole thing turned out beautifully.
Sometimes you just have to trust the process. And occasionally, sit on the kitchen floor watching the oven while you do it.
Sometimes you just have to trust the process. And if you're anything like me, occasionally get so invested in a dish that you feel the urge to sit on the kitchen floor, watching the oven work its magic, just to catch that pastry at the perfect moment.
Why you'll love this recipe
Seasonal and comforting: quince and apples are a wonderful autumn pairing.
A gorgeous caramel: light soft brown sugar brings a buttery, toffee-like flavour.
No pastry-making required: ready-rolled puff pastry keeps things simple.
Perfect for sharing: a lovely pudding for Sunday lunch or an autumn supper with family.
Quince & Apple Brown Sugar Tarte Tatin - The Recipe
Serves 6
For the quince
2 medium quinces
500ml water
100g light soft brown sugar
½ tsp ground ginger (optional)
For the Tarte Tatin
2 medium apples, preferably firm-fleshed
75g light soft brown sugar
50g butter
320g ready-rolled puff pastry
A little butter for greasing the baking dish
Method
1. Poach the quince
Peel the quinces, remove the cores and cut into quarters.
Put the water, 100g light soft brown sugar and ground ginger into a saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Add the quince quarters and poach gently until just tender. Start checking early: quince can soften surprisingly quickly, or they my take their sweet time, depending on ripeness and variety. You want the fruit to hold its shape, not collapse.
Lift the quince out carefully and leave to drain and cool. Reserve the syrup for another recipe or to drizzle over yoghurt, porridge or other autumn puddings.
2. Prepare the apples
Peel, core and cut the apples into generous wedges.
Keep them raw. They'll cook in the oven alongside the quince, and there's no need to give them a head start.
3. Make the brown sugar caramel
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan / 200°C conventional.
Melt the butter in a small frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the remaining 75g light soft brown sugar and stir gently until combined, glossy and bubbling. Allow around 2–3 minutes, watching carefully so it doesn't catch.
This is a buttery brown sugar caramel rather than a traditional dry caramel, so don't wait for it to turn a particular shade of amber.
4. Assemble the Tatin
Generously butter an ovenproof pie dish approximately 23–25cm across.
Carefully transfer the hot caramel into the prepared dish, taking care to avoid thermal shock if using ceramic. Use a dish suitable for the oven and avoid placing very hot caramel into cold ceramic.
Arrange the apple wedges and quince quarters over the caramel. The fruit will become the top of your Tatin, so take a little time over the arrangement. Keep the quince pieces intact and handle them gently.
5. Add the pastry
Lay the puff pastry over the fruit, trimming if necessary and leaving enough pastry to tuck around the edges.
Gently tuck the pastry down inside the dish, around the fruit. Cut a small slit in the centre to allow steam to escape.
6. Bake
Bake for 25–35 minutes, until the pastry is well risen, crisp and deeply golden.
The fruit is already partly cooked, so we're allowing the apples to soften, the caramel to bubble and the pastry to become beautifully crisp.
7. Turn out and serve
Remove from the oven and leave to rest for approximately 5 minutes.
Run a thin spatula or knife carefully around the edge if needed. Place a rimmed serving plate over the dish and, using oven gloves while keeping your hands and face clear of the hot caramel, invert in one confident movement.
Lift the dish away carefully. If any pieces of fruit have moved, simply put them back into place.
Serve warm, ideally with vanilla ice cream, custard or a little softly whipped cream.
Jo's Kitchen Notes
The quince: Don't rely on a fixed poaching time. Mine softened much faster than expected, so start testing early and lift the fruit out as soon as it is just tender.
The apples: Keeping them raw worked beautifully. They cooked alongside the quince in the oven, leaving both fruits with a similar tender texture.
The caramel: Light soft brown sugar gives this pudding its lovely rounded, almost toffee-like flavour. Don't add the quince poaching syrup to the caramel; the fruit will release moisture as it cooks.
The pastry: Puff pastry is ideal for an achievable Tarte Tatin. For the crispest result, serve soon after turning out. If you need to reheat leftovers, warm a slice in a preheated oven rather than the microwave.
The apples: I used Kissabel apples, whose beautiful pink-red flesh gave the finished pudding its extraordinary colour. Other firm eating apples will work just as well, although the colour will vary.
A little autumn magic
This is a pudding that reminds me why I love seasonal cooking. A handful of ingredients, a little experimentation and the willingness to see where things lead.
The quince brings its distinctive floral sweetness, the apples provide freshness and texture, and the brown sugar caramel ties everything together.
It may not have gone entirely to plan, but perhaps that's part of the charm.
And if you happen to find pink-fleshed apples on your next supermarket trip, I can thoroughly recommend giving them a starring role.
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