Nothing says simplistic elegance like an Apple Tarte Tatin (tahr-tah-TAN). It may look complicated, but it’s unbelievably simple.
Golden delicious apples pan-seared with butter and sugar, topped with a circle of pastry, popped in the oven and flipped upside down. Voila! And as the great James Peterson says, “acting nonchalant when serving will make your handiwork all the more impressive.” I love his recipe the most - here is a scaled-down version with photos to match:
Apple Tarte Tatin
Glorious French Food, by James Peterson
Makes 1 10” tart, serves 8
8 large golden delicious apples
2 Tbs lemon juice
6 Tbs sugar, divided
6 Tbs butter
1 recipe pie or tart dough
Whipped cream, for garnish
Peel and quarter apples. Toss wedges with lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the sugar.
Heat the butter and remaining sugar in a 10-inch non-stick skillet with sloping sides over medium heat.
Cook until sugar dissolves and butter foams, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Place apple wedges in pan. As you keep adding apples, they’ll start to stand up on end from bottom to stem. Add as many apples as you can until the pan is full and apples are all standing on end.
Return pan to stove over medium heat. Move the pan about every 5 minutes so the apples brown evenly. As apples cook, they’ll release liquid and shrink, allowing you to force in more wedges. Continue cooking until most of the liquid boils away and you’re left with a thickened caramel that comes halfway up the sides of the wedges, 45 minutes to an hour.
Keep checking the apples by gently sliding a knife down the side of the pan and lift up an apple to see if it’s golden brown on the bottom. Don’t let them burn. When apples are browned, make sure they’re not sticking by quickly moving the handle of the pan clockwise and then quickly reversing to counterclockwise. Do this until apples form a cohesive mass and no longer move with the pan. Remove pan from heat; cool for 30 minutes. Chill for 30 minutes in fridge.
Preheat oven to 400°. Roll dough out to slightly less than 1/4” thick and cut a round 2-inches larger in diameter than the outside rim of saute pan.
Place pastry on top of apples and tuck the edges inside the pan.
Bake until dough is golden brown, about 40 minutes.
(I admit it: I was in a hurry, didn’t chill the apples all the way, pastry bubbled up - still delicious.)
Let the tart cool. When ready to serve, place tart over high heat and with your hand spread over the dough, gently rotate the tart a full 360° within the pan - to ensure it isn’t sticking.
Place a flat serving plate upside-down over the tart, hold onto both and flip it out onto the serving plate.
Gently lift away the pan.
Serve tarte with whipped cream (Creme Chantilly).
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