Jackson Boxer’s recipe for roast apples with toffee sauce and soured cream

I love a tarte tatin: it’s one of those perfect recipes that contains only a few key ingredients at its core – in this case, butter, sugar, apples and pastry – yet it brings out the absolute best qualities from each: the sugar dark, bittersweet, caramelised, and tempered by the acidity of the apples, the texture softened but held by the combination of butter and fruit pectin. The only problem is that the whole thing happens behind a screen of puff pastry, meaning that tarte tatin takes a great deal of practice and repetition to reach the right level of caramelisation blind. So, here, I’ve dispensed with the pastry altogether, making it a much easier preparation. For the intrepid, this is delicious cooked over a bonfire, where the smoke adds an incredible extra dimension; it also functions as a warming treat after a chilly evening out watching the fireworks.

Roast apples with walnuts and soured cream

This basically follows my method for making tarte tatin, but without the need for pastry – nor to turn out a pan of seething caramel at significant danger to the skin on your wrists. The butter and sugar in the presence of the apples produce a beautiful and slightly acidic toffee sauce, while the fruit retains enough bite to stand up for itself and avoid disintegrating into mush. By drying out the quartered fruit in the fridge first, you ensure a nice, even caramelisation of the sugar and helps the apples maintain their shape and integrity. That said, you can also dry them in an oven set to 80C (60C fan)/gas very low for 30 minutes.

Prep 5 min
Dry 2 hr
Cook 45 min
Serves 4

6 apples – braeburn or discovery, for preference
100g unsalted butter, softened
100g caster sugar
500g soured cream, to serve
A few pinches ground cinnamon, to serve
100g toasted walnuts , to serve

Peel the apples, cut them in half and then into quarters, then cut out and discard the cores. Put the apple pieces on a tray and leave uncovered in the fridge for two hours to dry out.

Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½. Press the butter all over the base of an ovenproof nonstick pan, so it covers the entire flat surface, then scatter the sugar evenly over the top. Arrange the apples cut-side up on top (I like to shape them into a fan), then put the pan on a medium heat to melt the butter and caramelise the sugar for five to 10 minutes, gently shaking the pan every few minutes, until the sugar has melted to a dark caramel. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until everything is deliciously brown and bubbling.

Remove, leave to cool for 10 minutes, then divide between warmed bowls and serve with a generous spoon of soured cream, a dusting of cinnamon and some toasted walnuts.

• Jackson Boxer is chef/owner of Brunswick House, Vesper and Dove, all in London, and culinary director of Cowley Manor near Cheltenham and the Henrietta in London