By Keighley’s Mike Armstrong, an award-winning master baker with a big passion for baking...

PERFECTLY ripe peaches are one of life's pleasures, and summer is the best time to seek them.

According to legend, a tart de tan was invented by unmarried French sisters who ran a hotel near Paris in the 1880s.

In French, the actual name of the tart is Tarte des Demoiselles Tatin and it didn't become famous until a Parisian restaurant called Maxim's put it on the main menu.

Nowadays, this traditional tart remains an apple version in France, with tons of caramel to hold it together. Other varieties of fruits like peaches and pears can also be used when in season, and it is traditionally served warm with fresh cream.

Stephanie Tatin, one of the sisters, who did most of the cooking, was overworked one day and making a traditional apple pie left the apples cooking in butter and sugar for too long. Smelling the burning, she tried to rescue the dish by putting a pastry base on top of the pan of apples, quickly finishing the cooking by putting it into the oven. After turning it upside down, she was surprised to find how much the hotel guests appreciated the dessert. The French turned the puritan plain apple pie on its head, along with a comforting blanket of biscuity pastry and lovely caramelised brandy finery.

The pastry seems to be a matter of debate these days, puff or shortcrust. I'm in the puff camp with Raymond Blanc, as it has a lovely buttery flavour, that crisps up sensationally well and makes a lovely contrast with the soft fruits above. However, as the tart cools slightly, the juices soak into it, making it soggy, so really this tart is best eaten warm – whereas the more robust shortcrust, which offsets the rich topping beautifully, sways people in its favour if serving cold.

Mastering the art of French baking can be off-putting sometimes and the process of assembling the tart with its caramelised fruits can often see you grilling the tart once baked, as it never seems to get beyond a pale tan.

My foolproof recipe is easy to execute. Baking the puff pastry base first will give the tart its firm foundation and something for the sweet, buttery, caramel peaches to sit on without needing the 'flipping over onto a plate' trick.

RECIPE

SUMMER PEACH TART DE TAN

Ingredients:

375g block or ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry

4 big ripe peaches, stoned and cut into 6 wedges

35g unsalted butter

4 tablespoons of caster sugar

Good slug of French brandy

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas Mark 6 and roll out the puff pastry using a little flour, to the thickness of a pound coin, or unroll the sheet if ready-rolled and cut out a round 23cm/9in disk using a cake tin as a guide.

2. Transfer the disk onto a parchment-lined baking tray, pricking all over with a fork before baking for 15 minutes until golden brown and puffed up.

3. Meanwhile, put the peach slices into a frying pan with the butter and sugar, cooking over a low-medium heat for 5 minutes until tender and lightly caramelised in colour.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the brandy, be careful as brandy near a flame can be dangerous.

5. Toss the peaches gently within the brandy sauce, then return them back to the heat briefly to warm through.

6. To serve, spoon over the peaches onto the baked puff pastry round with all the brandy caramel sauce and serve with fresh cream or good vanilla ice cream.