Tarte tatin is one of my favourite tarts to make because it’s so easy.
I bought some lovely fruit on the weekend from the Orange Grove Markets in Lilyfield.There is a particular fruit and veg stall that stocks some varieties of fruit not commonly available. Intrigued, I bought some apples and pears on spec just to taste and to assess their “cookability”.
The apples, pictured below are “Belle de Boskoop” and, as the sign said, they are good for cooking, so I included them in my tarte tatin. 
Figs are still plentiful and relatively cheap in the autumn months, so they went in the tart too.
I made this tarte tatin without a recipe, so here is a guide to concocting the delicious tart.
Ingredients
A couple of tbls butter
A couple of tbls brown sugar
1/4 cup liqueur muscat or tokay or botrytis dessert wine
3-4 figs quartered
1-2 cooking apples sliced
Store bought puff pastry (must be butter) to cover the tart
Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees C fan forced.
Melt the butter in heavy bottomed frying pan or tarte tatin pan*. Add the brown sugar and cook gently till butter and sugar are amalgamated. Add the muscat or other alcohol and cook till the liquid has reduced slightly and thickened. Place the fruit in the syrup and cook gently till the fruit is softened but still holds it shape.
Place a disc of puff pastry over the top of the tarte tatin pan if using, or transfer the fruit and syrup to a shallow cake tin and place the puff pastry on top. Cook for 10 minutes at 200 degrees C then turn oven down to 160 degrees C and cook for a further 10 – 15 minutes or until the pastry is browned and puffed on top.
Remove from oven, leave for 5 minutes. Carefully turn out onto a serving plate. Serve warm with thick cream or ice cream. Also great cold as the juices thicken and the flavours meld.
*Tarte tatin pans are specifically designed to cook the fruit on the stove top and then can be transferred to the oven for baking. Available from cookware shops.
The Quirk and the Cool 