Quince and apple Tarte Tatin
On this occasion I bring you the recipe for one of the desserts I prepared for my family Christmas dinner: a delicious quince and apple tart. The other dessert on my Christmas table was the Homemade-Nutella Tart I made previously. My brother looove the Nutella tart and wanted more of it, so he asked me to prepare this dessert. When I’m hosting a big dinner, I always try to balance my desserts: a very chocolatey tart with a more fruity option. Almost everyone asked for a small portion of both desserts. Guys preferred the Nutella tart, and girls preferred the quince and apple tart.
In my house we love quince. My mom’s family is from Michoacán, which is characterized as one of the major producing states of quince in Mexico. You can see a lot of this ingredient in much of their food, as in the famous membrillate. I found some beautiful quinces and immediately visualize myself making this recipe. But I had a big disappointment, the quinces I bought were not Mexican, they were imported from California! (thanks globalization hahaha)
Although I made it from Christmas, the color combination is very autumnal: yellow apples with orange/pink quince. Although it seems that the recipe calls for a lot of sugar, the final result is not too sweet. Instead, I think the amount of sugar is just enough to counteract the tartness of the quinces.
Instead of a puff pastry I used a Pâte Brisée. My mom prepares an apple Tarte Tatin with this dough and it always comes out simply delicious. I also modify a lot of the procedure, I preferred to make it the way my mom always does.
Definitely a super fruity dessert that achieves the perfect balance between acidity and sweetness.
- 6 quinces, peeled, quartered and cored
- 400 gr (14 oz) sugar
- 6 cups water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 125 gr (4.4 oz) unsalted butter
- 2 ½ Tablespoons sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 200 gr (7 oz) flour
- 1 egg
- 6 Tablespoons cold water
- 300 gr (10.6 oz) sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 86 gr (3 oz) unsalted butter
- Pinch of salt
- 6 Granny Smith, peeled, quartered and cored
- In a large pot, add the quinces, sugar, water and cinnamon. Let it simmer over medium heat and cook until tender, around 1 ½ -2 hours. You know they are ready, when a fork pass easily through them. Remove from heat and let them cool. You can store the quinces with their syrup in an air thigh container for up to a week.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and salt. Mix in the flour until well combined. The addition of water depends on the humidity, I recommend that you start adding it slowly, one by one. The dough should just come together, if you add to much water it will become very watery and difficult to work with.
- Turn the dough out and wrap it in plastic-wrap. Refrigerate at least for one hour.
- Heat oven to 180°C (350°F).
- In an oven-safe heavy skillet (23 cm / 9 in), add the sugar and water. Let it boil until completely browned. Add the butter and the salt.
- Remove from the heat just for a while. Arrange the apple quarters in the pan, stacking them in a swirl pattern. Pack the apples in as tightly as you can; they’ll shrink as they cook. Return to medim-high heat and cook the apples until tender, around 15-20 minutes. The butter-sugar mixture will start to bubble but that’s fine, don’t turn down the heat. Remove from heat and, on top of the apples, add the quartered quinces.
- Remove the Pâte Brisée from the refrigerator and in a lightly floured surface, gently roll it oto the size of the skillet. Lay the dough over the fruits and carefully tuck the edges into the skillet.
- Be careful because the skillet is still very hot.
- Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes on a rack. Then, carefully invert the tart onto a rimmed serving dish. If any of the apple quarters stick to the pan, remove them with a spoon and place them on top of the tart.
- This tart tastes great if serve warmed with vanilla ice cream.
