I have been following the Cooking Club Challenge from the Canadian version of the Food Network blog Food for thought with their new blog host Elana for some time now. I have always been interested in what they have come up with each month to attempt from all the delicious recipes presented on their station. this month I decided to join in on the fun. You have one month to try out a specific foodtv.ca recipe. You can either follow the recipe to a "T" or make it your own with your personal twists. The club is open to everyone. No sign ups necessary. You can participate in as many or as few of the challenge as your schedule allows. This months chosen recipe challenge is Ricardo Larrivee's Mini 'Tatin' Apple Tarts with Caramel .I have a confession to make that I was up at 4:00 AM...yes you read that right...4:00 AM preparing this dessert. I even made the caramel and then had one piece of tatin for breakfast with some lemon sorbet and blueberries. Does it attest to my age when I say that I have had this recipe on the backburner and have been too tired to make it at night after work. Am I really that ancient? Will I be rocking myself gently in my rocking chair and reading previous issues of "Over 50" magazine? Perhaps my new job at the opthalmology office with all its surgery dates is taxing my brain and zapping my energy? Perhaps it is the 3 km hike 2 nights a week and then the walking club on Saturdays? I think I am really just getting old!!!!
This was my first challenge with the club...but what a great way to start with a recipe from Quebec's Ricardo Larrivee. This is a very seasonal dish which makes it perfect for autumn nights (or in my case breakfast) which utilizes those crisp, freshly picked apples from the local orchards. It was sweet, without being cloying with a crispy underlayer of beautifully executed puff pastry.
**Mini 'Tatin' Apple Tarts with Caramel**
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
130 g puff pastry
1 cup sugar (250 ml)
1/2 cup water (125 ml)
4 Royal Gala apples, peeled, seeded and cut in 3/4 inch cubes (2 cm)
Caramel
1/4 cup of water (60 ml)
1 cup sugar (250 ml)
1 tbsp corn syrup (15 ml)
1/4 cup cold semi-salted butter cut in cubes (60 ml)
6 x tbsp 35% cream (90 ml)
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Place rack in the centre of oven. Preheat oven at 400 °F (200 °C). Butter a 6 muffin tin or 6 - 1/2 cup (125ml) ramekins.
Roll out pastry. Using a cutter of the same diameter as the tin or ramekins, cut out 6 circles. Place on a sheet and refrigerate.
In a skillet, bring to boil water and sugar. Let boil at high heat until sugar starts browning. Add apples and let simmer 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Put apples and syrup evenly in the muffin tin or ramekins. Place on a baking sheet in case the syrup spills over. Cover the apples with the pastry. Bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the pastry is golden. Cover the baking sheet with parchment.
Let cool 2 minutes before removing from tin.
Serve hot with vanilla ice cream and caramel if desired.
If tarts are baked in ramekins, remove and place directly in plates.
Caramel
In a saucepan, bring water, sugar and corn syrup to boil. Cook until golden.
Remove from heat.
Add butter and stir until melted.
Incorporate cream.
Pour in a bowl and let cool.
