Marthas Favorite Tarte Tatin Recipes

MARTHA'S FAVORITE TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Halve and core apples. Set aside one half. Quarter remaining apples and transfer to a large bowl. Squeeze lemon over apple slices and set aside.
• Combine sugar and water in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat; immediately reduce heat to medium and cook until mixture begins to thicken and turn amber. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
• Place reserved apples in center of skillet. Decoratively arrange remaining apple slices, cut side up, in skillet around reserved apples. Continue layering slices until level with top of skillet. Cut any remaining apples into thick slices to fill in gaps. If fruit does not completely fill pan, tart will collapse when inverted.
• Place skillet over low heat and cook until syrup thickens and is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Do not let syrup burn. Remove from heat and let cool.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
• Roll out pate brisee to a 10- to 11-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick; transfer to a baking sheet and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Place pate brisee over apples and tuck edges. Transfer skillet to prepared baking sheet; transfer baking sheet to oven and bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 15 to 20 minutes. Loosen pastry from skillet using a sharp knife. Place a rimmed platter over skillet; quickly and carefully invert. Serve immediately.

TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Peel and core the apples, then cut them into quarters.
• Spread the butter on the bottom of a 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet. Mix the sugar, salt and vanilla together to evenly distribute the caviar. Sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the butter. Squeeze over the lemon juice.
• Place the apple quarters cut-side up on top. Remember, the bottom will become the top so make it look pretty. Put the pan over medium heat and cook until the sugar melts, caramelizes and begins to thicken. The apples will release their juices during this process, so it could take 10 to 15 minutes. If the juices start getting too dark, lower the heat a little.
• While the apples are cooking, take the puff pastry out of the fridge. Use a knife to cut a circle just big enough to fit over the top of the apples in the skillet. Keep chilled.
• When the sugar has caramelized, place the pastry circle over the apples, gently tucking in the sides. Transfer to the oven and bake until the pastry is risen and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let rest 10 to 15 minutes.
• Carefully turn the tarte tatin out onto a serving plate. Serve with whipped cream.

TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, place the flours, sugar and butter. Pulse 5 or 6 times in 1/2-second bursts to break up the butter. Add the shortening, turn on the machine and immediately add the ice water, pulsing 2 or 3 times. The dough should look like a mass of smallish lumps and should just hold together in a mass when a handful is pressed together. If the mixture is too dry, pulse in more water by droplets.
• Turn the dough out onto the work surface and with the heel of your hand, rapidly and roughly push egg-size blobs into a 6-inch smear. Gather the dough into a relatively smooth cake, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days).
• Slice the halved apples into 4 lengthwise wedges each, and toss in a large bowl with the lemon juice and zest and 1/2 cup sugar. Drain the apples after macerating 20 minutes.
• In a 9-inch skillet melt the butter over high heat. Stir in the remaining sugar and cook until the syrup bubbles and caramelizes, and turns a brown color. Remove the pan from the heat and arrange a layer of apple slices in a neat pattern on the caramel in the skillet, then arrange the remaining apples neatly on top.
• Return the pan to moderately high heat and cook for about 25 minutes, covering the pan after 10 minutes. Every few minutes press down on the apples and baste them with the exuded juices. When the juices are thick and syrupy, remove the pan from the heat.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a circle, 3/16-inch thick and 1-inch larger than the top of the pan. Drape the dough over the apples, pressing the edge of the dough between the apples and the inside of the pan. Cut 4 small steam holes on the top of the dough. Bake until the pastry has browned and crisped, about 20 minutes.
• Unmold the tart onto a serving dish (so the pastry is on the bottom), and serve warm or cold with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, as desired.

TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Roll the pastry to a 3mm-thick round on a lightly floured surface and cut a 24cm circle, using a plate as a guide. Lightly prick all over with a fork, place on a baking sheet, then cover and freeze while preparing the apples.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Peel, quarter and core the apples. Put the sugar in a flameproof 20cm ceramic tatin dish or a 20cm ovenproof heavy-based frying pan and place over a medium-high heat. Cook the sugar for 5-7 mins to a dark amber caramel syrup that's starting to smoke, then turn off the heat and stir in the 60g diced chilled butter.
• To assemble the tarte tatin, arrange the apple quarters very tightly in a circle around the edge of the dish first, rounded-side down, then fill in the middle in a similar fashion. Gently press with your hands to ensure there are no gaps. Brush the fruit with the melted butter.
• Bake in the oven for 30 mins, then remove and place the disc of frozen puff pastry on top - it will quickly defrost. Tuck the edges down the inside of the dish and, with a knife, prick a few holes in the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake for a further 40-45 mins until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.
• Allow to cool to room temperature for 1 hr before running a knife around the edge of the dish and inverting it onto a large serving plate that is deep enough to contain the juices. Serve with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.

FOOLPROOF TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• At least one day before you plan to cook the tart, prepare the apples: Slice off the bottom of each apple so it has a flat base. Peel and quarter the apples. Use a small sharp knife to trim the hard cores and seeds from the center of each quarter; don't worry about being too neat. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate, lightly covered, for at least one day or up to three days. (This key step reduces the amount of liquid in the tart. Don't worry if the apples turn brown; they will be browned during the cooking anyway.)
• When ready to cook, heat oven to 375 degrees (or 350 if using convection). Thickly coat the bottom of a 10-inch heavy ovenproof skillet, preferably nonstick metal, with butter. Sprinkle sugar evenly on top.
• Cut one piece of apple into a thick round disk and place in the center of the skillet to serve as the "button." Arrange the remaining apple pieces, each one standing on its flat end, in concentric circles around the button. Keep the pieces close together so that they support one another, standing upright. They will look like the petals of a flower.
• On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry about 1/8-inch thick. Place an upside-down bowl or pan on the pastry and use the tip of a sharp knife to cut out a circle about the same size as the top of your skillet. Lift out the circle and drape gently over the apples. Use your hands to tuck the pastry around the apple pieces, hugging them together firmly.
• Place the skillet on the stovetop over medium heat until golden-brown juice begins to bubble around the edges, 3 minutes (if the juices keep rising, spoon out as needed to remain level with pastry). If necessary, raise the heat so that the juices are at a boil. Keep cooking until the juices are turning darker brown and smell caramelized, no longer than 10 minutes more.
• Transfer skillet to the oven and bake 45 to 50 minutes, until puff pastry is browned and firm.
• Let cool 5 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a round serving plate. (Or, if not serving immediately, let cool completely in the pan; when ready to serve, rewarm for 15 minutes in a 350-degree oven before turning out.) If any apples remain stuck in the pan, gently use your fingers or a spatula to retrieve them, and rearrange on the pastry shell. Cut in wedges and serve warm with heavy cream, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.

PEAR TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Remove refrigerated pie crust from package, and follow manufacturer's suggestions for unrolling crust. Set aside.
• Combine nutmeg, ginger, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl.
• Peel, quarter, and core 4 pears. Slice each quarter into 3 slices, from core end to bottom, and place in a large bowl. Cut remaining pear in half; peel, and core one half and add to the bowl. Peel, core, and slice the other half as directed above and add to the bowl. Drizzle pears with bourbon and sprinkle with spice-sugar mix, tossing to evenly coat.
• Melt butter in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add 2/3 cup white sugar and salt to the melted butter, stirring to combine until mixture bubbles, 2 to 3 minutes. Place the single pear half in the center of the skillet. Fan remaining pear slices around the center, core end to the outside of the skillet and stem end toward the center. If possible, turn the pieces in the same direction. Keep adding pear slices, filling in any gaps, until they are all in the skillet.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, undisturbed, until pears are fork-tender and color develops to the liquid, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place a baking sheet on a rack in the lower third of the oven.
• Remove skillet from heat and place unbaked pie shell on top of the fruit, using a fork to tuck the edges of the pie shell toward the bottom of the skillet. Place skillet on the prepared baking sheet in the preheated oven. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake until crust is brown, 28 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Place a heat-safe plate, larger than the skillet, upside down over the crust.
• Use oven mitts to grab the plate and skillet together and quickly flip the skillet contents onto the plate; this move is tricky and requires some forearm strength and dexterity. After the flip, if the contents are not centered on the plate, use a spatula to gently move to the center. Add any fruit that remained in the skillet, and drizzle any remaining liquid over the top of the tarte tatin.
• Allow to sit 15-20 minutes, then serve warm.