Mango Tatin
By esther on Monday, July 16 2007, 14:04 - Something sweet - Permalink
Well, I thought that I was onto something with this one, but apparently my so called stroke of genius wasn't genius after all. So I guess that leaves me with just a stroke...whatever that means. It's somewhat deflating to come up with a really great recipe idea only to discover, after a two second Google search, that about 40 billion other people have had the same idea. I didn't do my research until after I made up this recipe so I might as well share it.
My very unique and personal inspiration for this mango tart tatin came from- yes, you guessed it- mangoes. Pretty creative, right? But these were not just any mangoes! I was hit by a stomach rumbling bolt of inspiration while I was riding home on the bus, munching away on a bag of dried mangoes. Sure there are lots of different kinds of dried mangoes, but after relentless testing, I can honestly say that N°12 Just Mango is by far the yummiest. They are my newest addiction and can be found at the Grande Epicerie or at my favorite lunch spot, Cojean.
What is so great about these particular dried mangoes? To start, they have the perfect consistency: leathery but not tough and plump without being gummy. Like the name indicates, it's just mango: no added sugar or strange crystallization. And because the drying process is natural, each piece is unique. My tatin idea came from one particular slice that happened to be more dried than the others. The sweet slightly burnt flavor immediately made me think of caramelized fruit which is the staple of the tarte tatin. The mango tatin is a funky take on the time-honored dessert that will convince even the most diehard traditionalist.
- The key to making these 'boxcarkitchen style' is to let your caramel go until it is really nice and dark. It's important to remove the caramel from the heat right before it is almost too dark, stir the butter in right away and then quickly pour it into the pans before it hardens.
Mango Tatin!
100 grams sugar
2 Tbsp water
25 grams salted butter
1 ripe mango
1 puff pastry crust
Peel and slice the mango lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Then cut the mango crosswise on the diagonal.
Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is completely melted and then leave it alone. Once the sugar starts to color, stop everything else and watch the caramel. Shake the contents once in awhile but do not stir. The color will change quickly and you really need to pay attention. Otherwise your dark caramel will turn into a burnt caramel.
When your caramel is one shade lighter than you want, remove from heat. (The caramel will continue to cook once it is removed from the heat source.) Stir in the butter and spoon into the tartelette pans immediately with great care!! (I'll reserve my burn stories for a later post).
Align the sliced mango on top of the caramel and cover with puff pastry.
Bake for about 20 minutes at 200°C.
Remove the pans from the oven. Let the tartelettes cool before turning them over and out of their pans. Otherwise all the caramel will run off.
Makes 6 tartelettes.
Comments
Well you know that many people can't be wrong about mango tatins! They look delicious indeed!
Although I've seen other mango tatin recipes, I am appreciating the fully ripe mango use in your recipe, rather than an underripe fruit. Mango flavor is so intense when ripe. Paired with the darker caramel in your recipe ~ sounds richer all around. Thanks for the posting!
I always undercook my caramel. Not on purpose, but I get so paranoid that it'll burn that I usually pull it off the heat too soon.
Mangoes are good no matter what you do with them.