You’ll flip over tasty upside-down apple tart

The Kitchn

By Emma Christensen
TheKitchn.com

Posted: Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013

Kirk McKoy - MCT

Apple tarte tatin can be served with a big dollop of creme fraiche or crema Mexicana. (Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

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Classic Tarte Tatin

6 apples, such as Granny Smith or another hard, tart apple

Dough for 1 (9-inch) pie crust

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

Ice cream or creme fraiche (optional)

HEAT oven to 375 degrees. Peel apples, slice into quarters and remove the core. Roll out the pie crust to a little larger than 10 inches on a piece of wax paper and keep chilled in the refrigerator while you cook the apples.

MELT the butter in a 10-inch skillet (preferably cast-iron or stainless steel) over medium to medium-high heat, then stir in the sugar. It will be grainy and clumpy at first, but it will dissolve into a syrupy liquid. When the sugar and butter are bubbling, add the apples and sprinkle with salt.

COOK the apples 12 to 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the sauce darkens to a deep amber caramel color. Be sure to turn the apples as you stir them so they are coated with the sauce. (The sauce is done if a drip holds its shape on a cool plate.)

REMOVE from the heat. With a fork and spatula, turn the apples so their rounded surfaces are against the bottom of the pan and arrange them in concentric circles. Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and drape it over the hot apples. Tuck the edges into the pan and prick with a fork.

BAKE for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Cool on a rack for 10-20 minutes.

RUN a knife around the edge of the pie crust to separate it from the pan. Shake the skillet to loosen the apples. Place a serving plate over the top of the skillet. Using oven mitts, grip the plate and skillet and swiftly turn them both over.

GENTLY LIFT the skillet away and rearrange any apples that got jostled out of place. Scrape any remaining caramel sauce from the pan and drizzle over the top. Serve warm, topped with ice cream or creme fraiche.

NOTES: You can make a Tarte Tatin with other fruits. Add softer fruit, like pears or peaches, to the sauce after it is cooked and dark amber. To make a salted caramel tarte Tatin, add an extra 1/2 teaspoon salt to the caramel as it cooks and then sprinkle the finished tarte with crunchy sea salt.

YIELD: 8 to 12 servings.

Here’s what makes a tarte Tatin so fabulous: Even if your crust isn’t perfect, even if it crumbles a bit when you flip it, and even if the French tart is not perfectly centered on your serving platter, it will still taste like something that came directly from heaven.

Creamy-soft apples in a deeply caramelized sauce will cover a multitude of culinary imperfections. Tell your guests that it’s meant to be “rustic” as you pass out the forks

Plain old Granny Smith apples are perfect for the tarte Tatin (tart tah-TAN). They hold up well in the rather rigorous caramelization and baking process, and their tartness translates into very pure apple flavor when pitted against the rich caramel.

That said, you should feel free to experiment with other apple varieties or a mix of varieties. Anything that holds up well for baking will work. Cutting the apples in quarters also helps them to hold their shape and not fall apart into applesauce.

Don’t be intimidated by the flip, or turning over the tatin. It’s baked with the crust on top, so you flip it over onto the serving platter. But in many ways, that’s the least stressful part. Just be sure to run a knife around the edge of the crust and get a firm grip on the plate-and-skillet sandwich before flipping. The tarte is still warm at that point, so it’s easy to nudge any apples back into place.

And yes, a tarte Tatin will taste incredible, no matter what happens during that flip. Have some ice cream or tangy creme fraiche for spooning over the top, and this is a total win.