«TENDRESSE» UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Peel and core the apples. Cut a 1 cm slice from a whole apple.
Then take the rest of the apples, cut in half and then into 1 cm
slices. Preheat the oven to 160°C. In a saucepan, heat 1/3 of
sugar to make a light dry caramel. Add the remaining sugar in
3 steps. Do not stir too much in order to avoid the formation of
small pieces of sugar. Dilute the caramel with the butter, the
split and scraped vanilla pod and apple juice, then bring to the
boil. Arrange the apple slices on a rimmed baking sheet and
cover with the caramel. Bake in a oven at 160°C for 20 minutes,
making sure that they don’t lose their shape. Deglaze with the
Cointreau® and leave to cool.

Whisk the caster sugar and egg yolks together. Mix the cream,
split and scraped vanilla pod and orange zest and bring to the
boil. Pour the boiling cream infusion into the mixture of egg
and sugar and heat to 85°C (just before boiling). Sieve using a
fine strainer, then add the gelatine softened in cold water and
drained, and the Cointreau®. Blend and set aside.

In a saucepan, warm 1/3 of the green apple juice and the caster
sugar. Stir in the gelatine softened in cold water and drained
and then the rest of the juice. Blend and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Using a flat beater, mix the flour,
sugars, hazelnut powder and butter. When the mixture has
taken on a sandy consistency, add the pecans. Gently pat down
the mixture in a round baking tin of 22 cm diameter of flaring
shape and bake in a oven at 170°C for around 20 minutes or
until the crumble is light golden. Leave to cool and set aside.

Drain the caramelized slices of apple and place them on
paper towel. Butter lightly the round baking tin, then cover
with clingfilm. Stretch well the clingfilm on the sides, with a
minimum of winkles.
In the centre of mould, place a round slice of caramelized apple.
Arrange the rest of the caramelized apple slices in a rosette
around the bottom and sides of the mould, packing them in
tightly. Place the mould in the freezer for a few minutes.
Pour the green apple jelly into the apples and put them back
in the freezer. When the jelly has set, add the orange and
Cointreau® crème brûlée. When the crème brûlée is starting
to set, add the pecan and hazelnut crumble base. Fold up the
sides of clingfilm towards the middle. Deep freeze or store in a
refrigerator at least 3 or 4 hours.
Plunge the mould rapidly into a bain-marie to facilitate the
demoulding, then turn on the dish.
Carefully remove the clingfilm. The slices of apple, well lined
and caramelized, provide a gourmand touch to this cake.