Recipe for Upside-Down Apple Tart

Breton shortbread: Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Sift the flour with the baking powder. Using an electric mixer, mix the softened butter, powdered sugar, almond flour, then add the egg yolks, and finally the sifted flour-baking powder mixture. Place the dough in a piping bag fitted with a smooth nozzle (8 mm in diameter) and pipe it in a spiral, starting from the center, into a 22 cm diameter circle placed on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the oven, monitoring the color.

Caramel and apples: Butter a 28-29 cm diameter cake pan and line it with a piece of parchment paper of the same size. Butter the parchment paper as well. Cook the sugar until it reaches an auburn caramel color, just before smoking, then pour it into the cake pan. Peel and core the apples, then cut them into sixths. Arrange them as flat as possible, tightly packed, on the caramel in the cake pan.

The soaking for cooking: Just melt the ingredients over low heat to combine them, without cooking. Apply this soaking with a brush twice over the entire surface of the apples.

Cooking the tart: Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Before placing it in the oven, brush the apples again with the soaking mixture. Put it in the oven and wait for the juice to settle at the bottom of the mold. Carefully remove this juice and set it aside. Apply another layer of soaking mixture and return it to the oven for 45 minutes. Once this time has passed, remove the juice again and combine it with the juice already collected. Using a brush, soak the apples with this collected juice. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the juice once more and soak the apples again. Replace the aluminum foil and bake for another 30 minutes. Check the cooking, which may vary depending on the variety of apple used: the fruits should have taken on a nice uniform red color. Place the mold on a cold tray to stop the cooking; let it cool without removing the aluminum foil. When the apples have completely cooled, press them down and smooth the surface with a spatula, then keep it in the refrigerator.

Assembly and finishing: Heat all the ingredients for the glaze. Adjust the shortbread on the apples. To unmold the tart, turn it over and heat it directly over the flame, then unmold onto a plate. Cover with the glaze. Serve with gourmet cream.

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