My wife and I stopped by our neighbor’s house to wish her a happy birthday. Our timing was perfect – her French husband had baked a wonderful birthday creation for her, and we arrived at that moment when it was judged cool enough to eat! A big pot of coffee was put on (French roast, of course!) and we were invited to sit and share a slice with them.
Fabulous! Looking like a caramel-apple shortbread upside-down pie, it tasted so good, we asked how he made it. He explained the dish is named after the Tatin sisters who invented it in France, and that “tarte” is what we in this country would call a pie. It is very easy to make, he said, and we left with the recipe and a special tarte pan.
However, if you want to make your own, you don’t really need a special pan. Instead, you will need to find an oven-proof non-stick skillet and a plate large enough that you will be able to flip the skillet over onto it. Our well-seasoned 10” skillet was just the ticket, and we found a somewhat larger plate to accept the finished tarte.
The first step is to make the dough for the crust, since it will need to chill for two hours, then return to room temp for a half hour. (If you are so inclined, you can use store-bought puff pastry instead of the shortbread crust. Follow the instructions on the package.)
The shortbread crust contains 250 grams (2 cups) flour, 125 grams (one stick + 2 Tbsp) of softened butter, 25 grams (2 Tbsp) sugar, and the yolk of one egg. Put the flour and butter in a food processor or medium bowl. Mix with short pulses of the food processor, or with a wooden spoon in the bowl until it forms a crumb-like mixture. Don’t overmix it.
In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, the egg yolk, a pinch of salt, and 40ml (8 tsp) of water. You can pour this liquid slowly into the running food processor, or mix it gradually with the spoon into the flour/butter until it forms a rough ball. Press the ball into a slab-shape, wrap it in plastic and put it in the refrigerator for two hours.
After the dough is finished chilling, let it warm up while you core, quarter and peel six Granny Smith apples. Then make the caramel like this:
Put the skillet on the stove top and melt a whole stick of butter in it. Then sprinkle ½ cup of sugar uniformly over the butter and stir occasionally. Continue heating the butter and sugar over medium heat and watch it carefully!
You want the mixture to melt and begin to brown slightly before quickly taking it off the heat. If you are inattentive or heat it too fast, the butter & sugar will burn and turn black, imparting a bitter taste.
Once the skillet is off the heat, start around the outside edge and press apple quarters core-side down into the caramel. They will shrink during baking, so jam them in tightly. (If you want a more meticulous task and result, you can slice the apple quarters thinner and fan their crescents around in concentric rings, but it will taste the same either way!)
Now that the refrigerated dough has had a half hour to return to room temperature, roll out the dough so it is barely larger than the skillet. You will be putting the fairly thick crust on top of the apples, tucking the edges down (this tuck will form the raised edge on the finished tarte), then putting it in the oven to bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Be sure to cut a little vent in the middle of the crust, to let the steam out.
When it is done baking, let it cool for at least 10 minutes so it shrinks away from the sides of the skillet. Going around the edge with a knife should help it separate cleanly. Finally, place the plate over the skillet like a lid, and boldly flip the stack over so the pie sits crust-down on the plate with the gooey delicious side up. Let it rest for 20 minutes before eating.
I’m looking forward to experimenting with this recipe. I’m sure it will be great with or without ice cream or whipped cream, but I’m willing to try it all these ways to make sure!