One of the things I love the most about Fall Season is the abundance of apples. This is by far one of my favorite fruits year round.
This Fall I was able to check off my bucket list apple picking! I partnered up with Toyota to test drive their RV4 TRD Off-Road and took a day trip to Wilcox, AZ to visit an orchard.
The Toyota RV4 TRD Off-Road was an amazing vehicle to drive. TRD stands for Toyota Racing Development this feature characteristic of racing cars has a lot of similarities with vehicles for off-roading.
A TRD type of vehicle is great for different kinds of terrain because of its special suspension. Additionally, there are three types of TRD – Sport, Off-Road, and Pro.
Wilcox, AZ is about 3.5 hours from Phoenix. We left early in the morning, had breakfast in Tucson (2 hours from Phoenix) at one of my favorite donut shops and then continued our journey (1.5 hours).
This SUV is very fuel efficient and the size is great, it's not bulky or hard to park and its very spacious inside.
When we arrived to Apple Annie's Orchard in Wilcox, we started picking apples right away. They had only the Granny Smith variety which makes an amazing pie, but this time I decided to use it for a super easy Tarte Tatin.
A Tarte Tatin is similar to a pie. It's made with puff pastry and cooked apples, but baking it is much easier because there is only one layer of pastry at the top, similar to an upside-down pineapple cake.
These are the ingredients you need for this recipe. You can get creative with your filling and use any fruit you like.
- Apples: Granny Smith and Honey Crisp
- Puff Pastry: Store Bought works perfect
- Lemon juice: Fresh is better
- Sugar
- Butter
- Heavy cream
- Vanilla beans or extract
Before we get hands on, I want to mention a few more things about the RAV4 TRD. I loved driving it in the stretch of unpaved road that leads to the orchard. Using the off-road feature made the ride a lot smoother and easier.
Now let's get cooking. Thank you so much to the Toyota family for allowing me to drive this vehicle. I truly enjoyed this trip. Also check my experience driving the Toyota Highlander.
Easy Apple Tarte Tatin
Ingredients
- 4 Granny Smith Apples
- 3 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
- ½ Cup White Sugar
- 4 Tablespoons Butter
- ¼ Cup Heavy Cream
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Cut apples in quarters and slice them into ¼ inch pieces.
- add ¼ cup of sugar and lemon juice and set aside.
- Place the butter and the rest of the sugar (¼ cup) and cook in the stove for about 5 minutes at medium heat.
- Add the heavy cream and let it cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add the apples slices inclusding the juices from the lemon and sugar. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and place the apples flat on an oven-safe skillet.
- Cover the apples with a round sheet of puff pastry.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the puff pastry is golden brown.
- Let it cool down and serve with whipped cream or ice cream
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