We Americans have our traditional dishes, the hot dog, the hamburger, barbecue, fried chicken, and of course, apple pie. I like all of them, but I have to admit that apple pie is not really a favorite, and given a choice I’d go with something else. I never felt like it was a complete dessert, an impression only strengthened by looking at the popular suggested improvements. Devotees swear by a slice of cheddar. While I agree that almost anything is improved by adding cheese, in my opinion, apple pie isn’t among them. I just have to say no thank you. Another suggested improvement is to add a scoop of ice cream. Well, that’s not really fair now, is it? All you are really doing is just adding a known successful dessert. Of course it’s better, you added ICE CREAM to it!
That was my opinion when I was a young high school student on a trip to Europe in the mid 1970’s. Our small group was having a “dining experience” at a small nondescript restaurant in Paris, and when the dessert selection was made somehow I missed out on the fancy, very French creations with sponge cake, spun sugar, whipped cream and various fruit and chocolate sauces. Disappointingly, I ended up with what was described to me as a “sort of apple pie.” Only it didn’t really look like apple pie, and when I tasted it… this was like no apple pie I had ever experienced! The apples were firm and filled with a rich apple flavor. They were covered, no… bathed… no… enrobed… no, they LUXURIATED in a caramelized sugar and apple juice sauce with the richness of butter and the faintest hint of cinnamon. All of this nestled on top of an airy almost cloudlike crust of perfectly browned puff pastry, lightly sprinkled with just a hint of crystallized sugar. What was this amazing dessert? I’m sure they told me. But I either didn’t understand, or forgot in the blur of the evening.
Many years later I saw a similar dessert on a menu in a Houston restaurant and ordered it. It wasn’t as good, but was obviously the same dessert, and I was finally able to put a name with the magic, the “tarte Tatin.” Its creation was a happy accident that occurred at the Hotel Tatin in the 1880’s in a region south of Paris. The hotel was run by two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin. Stéphanie did most of the cooking, and one very busy day she started to make a traditional apple pie but left the apples cooking on the stove top for too long, caramelizing the apples in the pan. In an effort to save the dish she placed the pastry crust on top of the pan of apples, and put the whole pan in the oven to finish. When she turned out the upside down result and served it, the diners loved it and began to request it every evening.
Mine isn’t as beautiful as the one I recall, but of course, you probably need to be French to really prepare it properly. I’ve looked for a recipe that approaches the one I remember, and have found a few that are close. This one is probably the best, but I’d still like to see more of the caramelized sugar and apple juices.
Tarte Tatin
Ingredients:
a frozen puff pastry sheet (from a 17 1/4-ounce package)
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1-2 teaspoons sanding sugar or demerara sugar (from the baking aisle)
7 to 9 Gala apples (3 to 4 pounds), or any firm baking apple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored
You will need a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
1. Roll pastry sheet into a 101/2-inch square on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin. Brush off excess flour and cut out a 10-inch round with a sharp knife, using a plate as a guide. Transfer round to a baking sheet and chill.
2. Spread butter thickly on bottom and side of skillet and pour sugar evenly over bottom. Arrange as many apples as will fit vertically on sugar, packing them tightly in concentric circles. Apples will stick up above rim of skillet.
3. Cook apples over moderately high heat, undisturbed, until juices are deep golden and bubbling, 18 to 25 minutes. (Don’t worry if juices color unevenly.)
4. Put skillet in middle of oven over a piece of foil to catch any drips. Bake 20 minutes (apples will settle slightly), then remove from oven. Sprinkle cinnamon evenly over apples, and lay pastry round over the top. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. (If it doesn’t stick dab it with a little melted butter.)
5. Bake tart until pastry is browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer skillet to a rack and cool at least 10 minutes.
6. Just before serving, invert a platter with lip over skillet and, using potholders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert tart onto platter. Replace any apples that stick to skillet. (Don’t worry if there are black spots; they won’t affect the flavor of the tart.) Brush any excess caramel from skillet over apples. Serve immediately.
You can cool the tarte in the skillet for up to 30 minutes before turning it out.
It can also stand, uncovered, up to 5 hours, and be reheated over moderately low heat for 1 to 2 minutes to slightly meat and loosen the caramel. Shake the skillet gently to loosen the tarte, and turn it out as above. In the picture below I realized I forgot to put the sanding sugar on the crust. I suppose it’s optional.
