Deliciously easy air fryer Apple Tarte Tatin

Apple Tarte Tatin is a classic French dessert known for its caramelised apples and buttery pastry. It is named after the Tatin sisters, who are credited with inventing the dish in the late 19th century at their hotel in France.

Traditionally, the dessert is made by arranging sliced apples in a caramel sauce at the bottom of a skillet or baking dish. The apples are then covered with a layer of pastry and baked until the pastry is golden brown and crisp. After baking, the tart is inverted onto a serving plate, revealing the beautifully caramelised apples on top. The pastry, usually puff pastry or shortcrust pastry, provides a delicate and flaky base that complements the sweet and tender apples.

The recipe is a spin-off of the traditional Apple Tarte Tatin but made even easier in an air fryer.

Compliments of Instant Pot, this recipe was created by a final year Foods student at the University of Pretoria, Department of Consumer and Food Sciences. The student was tasked by Lamb and Mutton SA, to use lamb bone broth, made in the Instant Pot Pro, using bones and offcuts, as a functional ingredient.

Yield: 4 small tartlets | Preparation time: 30 minutes | Cooking time: 23 minutes

Ingredients

Pastry Base

• 75 g Almond flour
• 75 g Cake flour
• 70 g Icing sugar
• 3 g Salt
• 2 g Cinnamon, ground
• 55 g Butter, cold, and cubed
• 45 mls Bone broth

Apple filling

• 2 Large apples, peeled, cored, sliced
• 200 mls Bone broth
• 100 g Brown sugar
• 3 g Ground cinnamon
• 2 g Nutmeg ground
• 5 mls Apple cider vinegar
• 5 mls Vanilla essence
• 20 g Dried apricots, dice
• 75 g Almonds, flaked
• 100 g Peanut butter, melted

Method

For the pastry

1. Combine the almond flour, cake flour, salt, cinnamon and icing sugar together.
2. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients using your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
3. Add the bone broth and mix to combine until a pastry forms.
4. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

For the filling

Combine the bone broth, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, apple cider vinegar and vanilla essence together.

To assemble

1. Evenly distribute and sprinkle the dried apricots into the 10cm tart tins lined with foil. Sprinkle and evenly distribute half of the flaked almonds on top of the dried apricots.
2. Arrange the apple slices into the tart tins in a layered fan pattern, ensuring that each tart tin has half an apple. Sprinkle and evenly distribute the remaining flaked almonds over the apples.
3. Drizzle and evenly distribute the melted peanut butter into the tart tins, over the apples and almonds.
4. Stir the broth mixture to combine once more and pour and evenly distribute the broth mixture over the apples, ensuring to cover the apples.
5. Divide the pastry into four even balls and roll to fit the tart tins. Place the pastry on top of the filling, tucking the edges into the sides of the tart tin.
6. Bake the tarts in the air fryer for 25 minutes at 200°C until the pastry is a rich golden brown.
7. To remove the tarts, place a plate over the tart tin and invert. The tart should slip out of the tart tin easily.
8. Serve with any remaining bone broth mixture in the tart tin if desired.