Strawberry and Rhubarb Tarte Tatin

To enjoy the fruits that will soon flood the markets and fruit shops in a different way, Carmen, author of Yerbabuena en la Cocina, presents us with a delicious strawberry tarte tatin: it departs from the typical tart that includes apple, and brings us the color and essence of romantic spring. I recommend you try it!

Surely almost everyone has already heard about the origin of the famous Tarte Tatin, which is just another variation of the apple one. Its peculiarity is that it is an inverted tart, that is, the fruit goes on the bottom and is covered with pastry on top, which can be shortcrust, puff pastry, etc.

The origin is attributed to the Tatín sisters, who ran the hotel of the same name in Lamotte-Beuvron. According to the most accepted tradition, one of them got distracted and overcooked the apples and, to avoid wasting them, covered them with pastry, baked them and then turned it over, giving rise to this well-known and exquisite variant of French cuisine.

Both because of its ingredients and its preparation, the Tarte Tatin is very simple to make, with only sugar, butter, puff pastry and your favorite fruits, they will add an outstanding note to that meal, snack or even dinner.

On this occasion, I chose strawberries; I enjoy them a lot when this time of year arrives and the markets fill with an intense red from them, you can almost smell that spring is around the corner.

The other ingredient I used was rhubarb: its tart flavor pairs perfectly with strawberries and, although not very well known in our country, it is becoming more common to find it in specialized greengrocers, although a bit expensive; I encourage you to try it, it will surely surprise you.

And as it couldn't be otherwise when dealing with the Tatin, one of my favorite tarts and of French tradition, for its preparation I used this beautiful mold by Emilie Henry, both for the quality of its finishes and for its increasingly pretty designs, this ceramic mold brand is one of my favorites. Also with it you'll have two in one, since you can prepare the caramel in it, then take it to the oven and as a finishing touch present this magnificent tart on the included tray… IMPOSSIBLE TO RESIST SO MUCH BRILLIANCE!

In the photo, the Kitchen Craft fruit basket.

Ingredients: (30 cm Mold)

• 500 g strawberries
• 300 g rhubarb
• 200 g sugar
• 50 g butter
• 1 griddle of puff pastry purchased

Preparation:

We wash the strawberries, dry them and cut them lengthwise. We wash the rhubarb and cut it into pieces of about 4 centimeters (there is no need to remove the fibers, they break down when cooked and are imperceptible).

We put the mold over the heat, add the sugar, reserving a couple of tablespoons, and the butter cut into small pieces, and cook over medium heat until we see that the Set turns a golden hue or toffee color. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly.

We preheat the oven to 180º. Place the strawberries in the mold so that the smooth side of the strawberries faces up, and the curved side is in contact with the caramel. Alternate with the rhubarb in a decorative way. Don't worry if they overlap a little, they will shrink a bit when cooked and it's convenient not to leave gaps.

Bake at 170º for 20 minutes; when half the time has passed, sprinkle the reserved sugar and continue baking.

After this time, roll the puff pastry out a bit with a rolling pin. Remove the mold from the oven and fit the puff pastry over it, tucking it around being careful not to move the fruit. With the excess puff pastry make a rim around it.

Bake at 170º for about 20 minutes or until you see the puff pastry is golden. Turn off the oven and leave the tart inside the oven for about 10 minutes with the door ajar so that the caramel and the juices of the strawberries, as they cool slightly, concentrate.

Remove and carefully turn the tart over, taking care not to burn yourself with the caramel. Serve as is or accompanied by creme fraîche or ice cream and serve immediately.