Quince Tarte Tatin is my seasonal take on the classic French tarte tatin dessert. A tarte tatin is an upside-down fruit tart. It is usually made with apples, but I use quince fruit in this version. The quince is caramelized with sugar and butter. While cooking, the pastry pie crust is placed on top and the tart is baked in the oven. Once the tarte tatin comes out of the oven, it is inverted and served quince up on a plate.
Start by poaching quince chunks in wine and water with spices. If quince isn’t in season you could make this tart with pears or even plums or peaches in summer. I use store bought pastry for the lid (which becomes the base). I make a syrup from the cooking liquid which I pour over the tarte when serving. Yum!
To make Quince Tarte Tatin, you will need the following ingredients:
Peel and core the quince. Cut each one into 4 equal sized pieces.
Place the fruit chunks into a medium saucepan with the wine, water, spices, orange zest, salt and ½ cup of caster sugar. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce to a slow simmer for 20-30 minutes until soft and tender.
Remove the quince from the poaching liquid and drain.
Strain the poaching liquid to remove all the spices. Return the liquid to the saucepan. Add the vanilla extract and the juice of an orange. Bring to a boil again and simmer over a low heat for about 15 minutes until the syrup has thickened. Set aside to cool.
Add the sugar to a heavy-bottomed cast iron pan over medium-low heat. Swirl occasionally to ensure the sugar doesn’t burn. When the sugar turns golden brown, add the butter and cook until it starts to bubble.
Place the quince pieces in the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 355 °F.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out so that it is larger than the pan. Place the sheet of puff pastry on top of the quince. Tuck in the sides to completely encase the fruit.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is golden and puffed up. Leave to cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
Place a large plate on the pastry lid and carefully invert the pan until the tarte tatin comes loose. Rearrange any of the quince pieces that might have become dislodged when inverting the tarte.
Serve with the syrup and a huge spoonful of crème fraiche if you wish.
This Quince Tarte Tatin is a delicious take on the classic French dessert. If you make it, please come back and leave a review to tell me what you think!
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