Rose's September Shop Watch - Tarte Tatin Dish

Tarte Tatin Dish

Amazon

What?
Mermaid Tarte Tatin Dish 

Why?
Doing a good turn

Is this an early sign? An intimation of mortality? It was finding it difficult to turn out my tarte tatin that was the clue. I love tarte tatin – it is one of my favourite desserts to serve with the Sunday lunch, especially after a French style roast leg of lamb with flageolets and gratin dauphinois. But I approach making it with slight trepidation. There is always a frisson of worry about inverting it onto a plate, especially since it has to be done at the last minute. The pan is still burning hot even after resting the tarte for 5 minutes and you are juggling with the large plate to turn it out on in thick oven gloves. And then the last time I made it in an ovenproof frying pan I suddenly found the whole thing too heavy for my wrist to do the turn.

Not wanting to give up on my favourite tart I did some investigation into tarte tatin dishes rather than frying pans. There was no point looking at Le Creuset since their cast iron dishes weigh a ton before you put anything in them. But then I came across one from Mermaid. And Mermaid is my favourite brand for all my roasting tins and baking trays. And it only weighed 360grams.

I was a little worried about putting what looks like a cake tin directly on the hob for the initial caramelisation process, but was reassured that all my Mermaid tins and trays stand up to this without buckling. I followed the recipe precisely, leaving the tarte to cool slightly after taking it from the oven and then the moment of truth – turning it out. It was easy and the tarte looked perfect – deep rich caramelised apples on a circle of pastry.

So, the Mermaid dish is the answer. The brand is manufactured by Samuel Groves who make professional quality, buy for life, pots and pans and has been doing so since 1817. The Mermaid range utilises aluminium’s excellent heat distribution and conductivity, and the tarte tatin dish’s silver anodised coating gives it an easy to clean surface which is dishwasher safe. Washing it up was a doddle.The proven quality of Mermaid has made it the brand of choice for professional chefs and cooks.

Finally, a few other tips on making a tarte tatin. Do use a melon baller to remove the centre of the apples as Delia’s recipe suggests. I own a melon baller which has never been used for making balls of melon but is used for this alone. And if you want to use ready-made pastry then go to a French website like French Click and order some puff pastry which comes in rounds not rectangles. Someone please tell me why in the UK you can only buy rectangular rolled pastry to make round tarts and quiches!

As for my intimation of mortality – I can forget all about it now I have the solution.

Conclusion:
As George Formby said "turned out nice again".

Product Details:
Samuel Groves Mermaid Tarte Tatin Dish
10.5 inches 
£32.99

Contact:
amazon.co.uk

Price and availability as at 31st August 2023

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