Writing that post last week about my favorite apple recipes prompted me to do a little weekend baking, myself. The weather was so nice, though, that instead of baking, we decided to get outside and use our Fontana wood oven for a twist on the traditional tart tatin. How did it turn out? Well, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. Try not to drool on your keyboard, people. Yes, it was really THAT good.
Tart tatin is one of my very favorite desserts. When we were in France on our honeymoon, I made it my goal to try a slice wherever we went. By the end of the trip, I considered myself an expert (and also needed bigger pants). Seriously though, it was so interesting to me how different places all had a slightly different version. Some used a thick pastry and chunky apples, while other pastry was paper thin. The ingredients are always the same and incredibly basic – you just need apples, sugar and butter. I chose to add a sprinkle of cinnamon and LOVED the result.
Going back to the pastry question, I use puff pastry here! It’s just easy and really good. I was able to find puff that had already been cut into perfect 9″ circles for this, but the first time I tested this recipe I cut my own puff and it was fine. I just traced the rectangular sheet around the bottom of my skillet. Just be sure to let your pastry thaw out before you use it!
We loved making this in our wood oven. It only took 5 minutes, if you can believe that! We had just finished grilling flank steak for fajitas and let the oven come down in temperature before firing off this tart. The boys were going crazy when I flipped it out on a plate. ?
I would also like to add that my chocoholic husband said that this was “the best dessert he has ever tasted” after that first perfect bite of warm tart with melting vanilla ice cream. I have to agree. A good tart tatin is really hard to beat. You can definitely make this on a gas or charcoal grill…or even a regular oven! It’s actually not complicated at all and always a showstopper.
We have really enjoyed using our oven this summer for all sorts of things! I know the price tag might seem hard to swallow but if you do a lot of outdoor entertaining, it’s definitely a worthy investment. Plus, it’s built to last at least twenty years. And pizza is really just the tip of the iceberg! In fact, we’ve only made pizza twice in ours. I want to try wood fired veggies next, as the weather gets cooler and all those root veggies come back in season.
Wood Fired Cinnamon Apple Tart Tatin
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 4 large gala apples cored and sliced into 1/2" thick slices
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 piece puff pastry 9" round
Instructions
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Remove your puff pastry from the freezer and let defrost on the counter while you caramelize the apples.
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Build a fire in your oven and bring the temperature to 400 degrees. Alternatively, you could heat up either a gas, charcoal grill or regular oven. Just make sure you get the temp up to 400.
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Melt the butter in a nine inch cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Once the butter has melted and is frothy, sprinkle the sugar evenly over the butter.
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Lay the apples into the sugar in an overlapping pattern. This does not need to be perfect!
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Sprinkle the cinnamon on the apples. Now - do not touch the apples. Let them cook undisturbed for about 10-15 minutes. You will know when it's ready because the caramel will be a golden/dark color bubbling up around the sides. When this happens, immediately remove from the heat.
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Lay the puff pastry circle over the apples and transfer to the wood oven. Cook for 5 minutes until puff pastry has puffed and is golden brown.
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Let the tart cool for about 12 minutes in the skillet then say a prayer and invert onto a plate. You can always rearrange the apple slices if some have stuck. ?
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Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!
Recipe Notes
You can make this in a regular grill or even an oven. To bake in an oven, preheat to 400 degrees and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
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