Sweet potato tarte tatin with macadamia caramel

A classic dessert that can be made with a variety of fruits, but the red soil of the Northern Rivers area makes us one of the best sweet potato growing areas in the country. It has become a favourite sweet ingredient of mine over the last few years.

Sweet potato tarte tatin with macadamia caramel Credit: Kitti Gould

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  50 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

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Ingredients

• 700 g - 900 g sweet potato, ideally narrow long ones about 5 cm diameter
• 85 g unsalted butter
• 100 g caster sugar, plus a pinch extra
• pinch of salt
• 300 g butter puff pastry
• plain flour, for dusting
• 75 ml macadamia liqueur
• crème fraîche or a good quality vanilla ice cream, to serve

Instructions

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180˚C.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and if they are wider than 5 cm diameter, cut it in half lengthways. Slice the sweet potatoes into thin coins about 4–5 mm thick.
3. Generously coat the bottom of a 25 cm heavy non-stick, ovenproof frying pan with 60 g butter. Sprinkle the sugar evenly on top and scatter with a small pinch of salt.
4. Place one disc of sweet potato in the center of the frying pan to serve as the "button." Arrange the remaining slices in concentric circles around the button, in a rosette pattern. Keep the pieces close together, just slightly overlapping.
5. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to 5 mm thick. Place an upside-down bowl or pan on the pastry and use the tip of a sharp knife to cut out a circle about the same size as the top of your pan. Gently drape over the sweet potato. Use your hands to tuck the pastry around the sweet potato pieces, hugging them together firmly.
6. Place the pan on the stovetop over medium heat and cook for about 3 minutes or until golden juices begin to bubble around the edges. If the juices keep rising, spoon out as needed to remain level with pastry. If necessary, increase the heat to high so that the juices are at a boil. Keep cooking for another 10 minutes or until the juices turn a darker brown and smell caramelised.
7. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 20–30 minutes or until the puff pastry is browned and firm.
8. Once out of the oven, pour a little the macadamia liqueur around the edge of the pan, swirling it to make a caramel. Let cool for 2 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a round serving plate (see note).
9. Place the remaining liqueur, butter and extra pinch of sugar in the frying pan and shake over medium heat until a caramel forms. Pour over the tarte tartin, then cut into wedges and serve warm with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.

Notes

• If not serving immediately, let the tarte cool completely in the pan and when ready to serve, reheat in the oven at 175˚C for 15 minutes before turning out.)

• If any slices remain stuck in the pan, gently use your fingers or a spatula to retrieve them and rearrange on the pastry shell.

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Is It Sweet Or Savoury?

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Watch The Full Episode Here

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