Individual Upside Down Apple Tarts Recipes

TARTE TARTIN (UPSIDE-DOWN APPLE TART)

Steps:

• For apples, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scatter butter pieces and sprinkle sugar evenly in a 9 to 10-inch copper tartin pan or heavy baking pan. Tightly pack apple halves around inside edge of pan, reserve 4, standing upright, nestled against one another, with round side tilted down. Place 4 remaining halves in similar position in center of pan. (Apples will shrink as they cook and slip round side down into pan.) Bake for about 2 hours. Transfer pan from oven to stove top and cook over medium-high heat until butter and sugar caramelize to a rich brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and gently ease sticky apples away from side of pan with a knife. Refrigerate overnight so that apples firm up and "confit" further.
• For pastry, preheat oven to 350 degrees about 1 hour before serving tart. Sift flour, salt, and sugar into a bowl. Rub butter into flour mixture with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle in 3 tablespoons ice water and work dough until it just holds together. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out dough on a floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Drape pastry over apples and pan. Roll the rolling pin across of pan to cut off excess pastry and allow pastry to fall over apples against the inside edge of pan. Bake in oven (still at 350) until pastry is flaky and golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, place a flat ovenproof platter on top of tartin pan and invert quickly and carefully. Do not unmold yet. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and return platter and pan to oven for 10 minutes. Remove tartin pan and serve warm.

INDIVIDUAL UPSIDE-DOWN APPLE TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat over to 450°F.9
• In a dry heavy saucepan (about 1-quart capacity) cook sugar over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Continue cooking sugar, stirring with a fork until it is melted and then swirling pan, until it is a deep-golden caramel. Pour caramel into four 6-ounce ramekins (3 1/4 to 3 1/2 inches in diameter).
• Peel and cut 1 apple into 5 wedges and core wedges. Put wedges back together to re-form apple shape and stand upright, stem end down, in a ramekin (wedges will protrude over rim). Repeat procedure with remaining apples.
• Cut butter into 4 pieces. Put 1 gingersnap, broken into 4 pieces, in center of each re-formed apple and top with 1 piece of butter. Arrange ramekins in a shallow baking pan and bake apples in middle of oven 45 minutes.
• While apples are baking, halve puff-pastry sheet crosswise and then lengthwise to make 4 nearly square pieces and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap. Remove baking sheet with ramekins from oven and drape a piece of puff pastry over each apple (edges of pastry will extend beyond rims). Return pan to oven and reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake tarts 20 to 25 minutes, or until pastry is puffed and golden brown.
• Remove tarts from oven. Invert heatproof dessert plates over ramekins and invert tarts carefully onto them.
• Serve tarts warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

UPSIDE DOWN APPLE TARTS

Steps:

• Make pastry cream:
• Scrape seeds from vanilla bean with tip of a paring knife into a small heavy saucepan. Add pod, milk, and 3 Tbsp sugar and bring just to a boil, whisking to dissolve sugar.
• Meanwhile, whisk together flour, cornstarch, remaining sugar, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Whisk together whole egg and yolk in another bowl, then whisk in flour mixture until smooth.
• Add one third of hot milk mixture to yolk mixture (to temper) in a slow stream, whisking, then add to milk mixture remaining in saucepan, whisking. Bring custard to a boil over medium heat, whisking, then boil, whisking, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.
• Transfer pastry cream to a bowl and chill, its surface covered with wax paper, until no longer hot, at least 30 minutes.
• Make tarts:
• Preheat oven to 400°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Peel and core apples, then cut into 1/8-inch-thick wedges.
• Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin 1/8 inch thick and cut out 8 (6-inch) rounds using inverted bowl or plate as a guide. Punch out center of each round with cookie cutter and transfer to baking sheets.
• Discard vanilla pod and transfer pastry cream to pastry bag. Snip a 1/3-inch opening and pipe pastry cream onto pastry in a ring around center (there will be some cream left over). Arrange overlapping apple slices on pastry, covering the cream, then brush with melted butter.
• Bake tarts, switching position of sheets halfway through, until edges of apples are pale golden, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir together corn syrup and water until smooth.
• Remove baking sheets from oven and flip each tart over with a large spatula. Generously brush pastry with some of corn syrup mixture.
• Continue to bake, switching position of sheets halfway through, until pastry is shiny and golden, about 15 minutes more. Cool 10 minutes.
• Serve tarts, pastry side up, warm or at room temperature.

EASY UPSIDE DOWN APPLE TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Peel, core& quarter apples; toss with lemon juice& 2 tbsp of the sugar.
• Let stand& toss again so that sugar is completely dissolved.
• In a 10 inch ovenproof skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
• Sprinkle remaining sugar evenly over butter.
• Stir just until sugar is dissolved& remove from heat.
• Place as many apple wedges as you can into the pan.
• They will actually stand on end but thats OK since they will shrink as the tarte cooks.
• Place the pan back over medium heat and cook the apples for 20- 25 minutes or until syrup has formed a thickened caramel.
• Cool slightly.
• Gently roll out pie shell (or puff pastry) to fit slightly larger than the pan.
• Place over the pan, trim edges& bake in preheated 400F oven for 20- 25 minutes or until pastry is crisp.
• Turn out onto a large platter& serve.