No surprise, the weekend flew by. Saturday’s activities involved strolling through the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, picking up kouign amann at b. patisserie, and watching Movies on Demand in the afternoon and evening.
On Sunday, I baked a pineapple tarte tatin using fresh fruit from a Whole Foods Market mystery basket. Fortunately, I was able to offload some on my parents, brother and sister-in-law, whom I met for lunch in Palo Alto; otherwise, I would have eaten the entire thing.
There’s nothing fancy about this pineapple tarte tatin, yet it’s simply delicious. Think buttery, flaky pastry topped with a thin layer of caramelized fruit. Serve each slice à la mode or au naturel with a cup of hot coffee – I promise your taste buds will be happy.
Crust recipe adapted from Not Quite Nigella.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
- 3 tablespoons ice water
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup light or dark brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ small pineapple, peeled, cored and cut crosswise into ¼"-thick slices
- Place flour and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add water and pulse until ingredients start to come together.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out to a 20″x10″ rectangle. Using a bench scraper, mark out the length of the dough into 6 equal parts. Lift one side up and fold it over 5 times until you get to the end of the dough.
- Roll the dough out again lengthwise to about 15″ long. Starting at the short end, roll the dough up into a log. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Heat a large fry pan over medium heat and add the butter, sugar and cinnamon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves.
- Cut pineapple slices into wedges. Add to fry pan and cook for 5 minutes. Remove pineapple from pan and set aside.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer liquid, stirring occasionally, until it has reduced by half, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Line the bottom of a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom with parchment paper.
- Arrange the pineapple wedges in the prepared tart pan, working in a spiral from the outside in to the center. Pour the reduced cooking liquid over the pineapple.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, roll it out to a 10" circle. Place it on top of the filling and tuck the dough around the pineapple.
- Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, 20-25 minutes.
- Remove tarte tatin from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Then remove ring and place a rimmed platter on top of the tarte tatin; quickly and carefully invert. Remove parchment paper and serve immediately or at room temperature.
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