This dessert is quite the showstopper. It is only four ingredients, puff pastry, apples, sugar and butter, but it does require either a sharp knife or mandolin and confidence. You’re working with hot caramel, so being deft and careful are key to a delicious–and safely made–dessert.
A mandolin makes slicing the apples quick, but if you want to use a sharp knife, or don’t have a corer, you can slice thin slices too and will get similiar effect, it will just take you a bit more time.
Ingredients
- 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 1 lb sugar
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, cut into 8 chunks
Directions
- Put a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan.
- On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to a 12” x 18” rectangle. Cut six 6” circles using a lid or cutter. Prick all over with a fork. Place on parchment lined sheet pan and refrigerate.
- In a medium sized saucepan, add sugar and ¾ cup water. To help prevent crystallization, you can also add ½ tsp of an acid, like lemon juice or vinegar. Make sure there are no dry spots of sugar in the pan and no stray crystals on the sides of the pan. Turn heat on high. Do not move or swirl the saucepan. Allow the sugar to turn a deep amber color, remove from heat.
- Whisk in one chunk of butter at a time, until each is dissolved. The mixture will foam and then turn opaque. It is very hot. Carefully pour onto sheet pan and spread evenly over parchment paper. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Slice/mandoline the apples 1/8” thick. Reserve six whole round slices for the centers of each. The other slices may be either whole round slices or sliced fans.
- Place six round slices equidistantly apart on the sheet pan–three on the top and three on the bottom of the pan–these will be the center of each flatin. Create a layered flower pattern over each circle. Don’t be afraid to stack, creating two layers, tucking rings or slices in to form a tall, fat flower.
- Place a round of puff pastry carefully over each “apple flower”, then a piece of parchment over that and then another sheet pan over that (upside down, so they’re snug in there. Place on the top rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove sheet pan and parchment paper. Bake another 15 minutes. Puff pastry should be flat and brown and crispy looking. If not, bake a bit longer.
- Now the messy part. Safety first! Remove from oven. Place several sheets of parchment paper down (or a large cutting board) on your counter. Put the top parchment and sheet pan back on top of the apples, and with a firm grip in oven mitts, carefully flip over the sheet pans onto the countertop. Hot caramel will ooze out – be careful!
- Move your flatins, now right side up, to a fresh sheet pan on parchment paper. Spoon any leftover caramel over them and swirl with the back of spoon. Return to oven for another 7-10 minutes or until bubbling and shiny.
- Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with your favorite ice cream.