Tarte Tatincooks Illustrated Recipes

EASY TARTE TATIN (COOK'S ILLUSTRATED)

Steps:

• Adjust rack to middle position in oven and then heat to 400. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the puff pastry on the parchment. Bake until golden brown and puffed, 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter; press lightly to flatten if domed.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a 12-inch, nonstick skillet over high heat. Remove the pan from heat and spinkle evenly with the sugar. Lay the apples in the skillet. Return to heat. Cook, stirring apples halfway through, until the juices in the pan turn a rich amber color and apples are carmelized, about 15 minutes.
• Remove apples from the pan one at a time. Arrange them in overlapping rows on the pastry square, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Spoon about half of the pan juices over the apples.
• Whisk the cream and Grand Marnier (if using) into the remaining juices in the pan. Bring to a simmer. Pour some sauce over the tart just before serving, passing the remaining sauce separately.
• FOR PEAR TATIN: Substitute 2 lbs. pears (about 4) for the apples. You may need to increase the carmelization time to 20-25 minutes. Use Poire William instead of Grand Marnier if using a liquor.
• LIQUOR OPTION FOR APPLES: Cognac. I believe it is a classically French pairing with apple desserts. It's not the Cook's Illustrated version, tho, if you want to use strictly their recipe. I used it in a different tart recipe once, and it was awesome. Thanks to the first reviewer for this idea!

THE WORLD-FAMOUS TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C/gas 5. Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour and roll out your puff pastry until it's just over 1/4-inch/0.5cm thick. This will be enough to cover the ovenproof frying pan you'll be cooking the tarte Tatin in, leaving about 2 inches/5 cm extra around the edge. Put the pastry to one side for now. Peel your apples, then halve them horizontally and use a teaspoon to get rid of the seeds and core. Put the ovenproof pan on a medium heat and add the sugar, Calvados, vanilla seeds, and pod. Let the sugar dissolve and cook until the mixture forms a light caramel. Once the caramel looks and smells delicious - it should be a lovely chestnut brown - add your halved apples. Carefully stir everything in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until the apples start to soften and you get a toffee apple vibe happening. Add the cubed butter, then lay the pastry over the top. Quickly and carefully tuck the pastry down right into the edges - it's best to use a wooden spoon so you don't touch the caramel. Bake the tarte Tatin for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden, with crispy caramelly pieces bubbling up from under the edges. Take it out of the oven. To make it look like a tarte Tatin you need to turn it out, which isn't hard - but you do need to be careful with that hot caramel. So get a serving plate or board larger than your pan and put an oven glove on to protect the arm holding the board. Put the board or plate on top of the pan, then quickly, carefully and confidently turn it out (remember you can go to www.jamieoliver.com/how-to and see a video of how to do this safely). Put it to one side for a few minutes, so the caramel can cool down, then divide it up and serve with a spoonful of creme fraiche or ice cream.

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.

CLASSIC TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface and using a floured rolling pin, roll puff pastry into a 10 1/2-inch square. Brush off excess flour. Using a plate as a guide, cut out a 10-inch round. Transfer pastry round to a parchment-lined baking sheet, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, coat bottom and sides of a 10-inch skillet with the 4 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle sugar evenly over bottom. Arrange apple slices closely together in concentric circles in skillet, with rounded sides down. Place over medium-high heat, and cook, without stirring, until juices are deep golden and bubbling, 18 to 20 minutes.
• Line oven rack with foil to catch any juices, and place skillet on foil. Bake for 20 minutes (apples will settle slightly). Remove from oven, and place pastry round over apples. Bake until pastry is dark golden brown, 23 to 28 minutes. Let cool in skillet on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.
• Invert tart onto a serving dish. Gently remove any apples that stick to skillet, and place on tart. Serve warm, with creme fraiche.

TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Poaching liquid: In a 5-quart pot, bring water, sugar, and butter to a boil, whisking occasionally. Use a paring knife to split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise; scrape the seeds from the pod and reserve for caramel. (Chef Boulud wipes the seeds onto the butter reserved for the caramel.) Add the scraped vanilla pod and the lemon juice to the poaching liquid.While the poaching liquid comes to a boil, prep the apples.
• Prep apples: Peel apples, then cut each into 4 wedges. Trim the top and bottom of each wedge and cut away the core. Set apple wedges aside.
• Make caramel: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a 8 x 2¼-inch sauté pan over medium heat, add sugar. Stir slowly and gently, keeping a close eye on it; when a little over half the sugar has melted, reduce heat to low and continue stirring. After a total of 6-7 minutes, sugar should be caramelized, brown, and 350 F on an instant-read thermometer. Turn off the heat and add the reserved vanilla seeds and butter. Stir vigorously to combine; then allow caramel cool, 10-15 minutes.
• Poach apples: Once the poaching liquid is at a boil, reduce to a simmer and add the apples. Raise the heat to bring the liquid back to a simmer. Gently stir the apples every 5 minutes to ensure even cooking, rotating the apples from the top of the pot to the bottom. (White foam may form on the surface, which is normal; it does not need to be removed.) Simmer until apples are tender and a knife can easily pierce through, 15-20 minutes. Set a colander over a bowl and use a strainer to very gently transfer apples to the colander. Discard poaching liquid.
• Spread poached apples on a parchment-lined baking sheet to stop the cooking. (Optional: Allow apples to cool for 10 minutes for easier handling.) Begin placing apples around the perimeter of the sauté pan on top of the caramel, upright and nesting inside one another. Continue wedging apples into the pan in concentric circles, as tightly as possible; nearly every piece should fit into the pan. (If one or two remain, that's the chef's snack!) Once the pan is tightly packed, use the back of a spoon to gently press the apples down, to remove any air pockets. Discard vanilla bean.Place pan over low heat until caramel is bubbly around the apples, 5 minutes. Use a spoon to baste the apples with the caramel, then place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. (Total baking time will be 60-75 minutes.) Note: Caramel may bubble out of the pan and onto the baking sheet, which is normal!
• While the apples are baking, wrap the bottom and outside of the slightly smaller pot in aluminum foil. After the apples have been baking for 20-25 minutes, remove from oven. Place sauté pan on a rack fitted over a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Gently press the bottom of the wrapped pot on the apples to fully submerge them into the caramel and flatten the top. (Some caramel may overflow onto the baking sheet.) Set aside the smaller pot and place the apples back into the oven for 30-35 more minutes, removing to press the apples every 15 minutes.
• After a total of about 60 minutes of baking, the apples will have absorbed most of the caramel and be concentrated in the sauté pan. Remove from the oven and increase oven temperature to 400 F. Roll pastry: Remove puff pastry from refrigerator. Dust a work surface with flour and roll pastry to a ¼-inch thickness, rotating the pastry as you roll; dust with additional flour as needed. Cut the flattened pastry into a circle just a little larger than the diameter of the sauté pan, using the lid as a guide. Use a fork to poke holes all over the pastry: this is called "docking" and will keep the pastry from over-puffing. Place docked pastry on top of the apples; it's fine if the pastry is at the edge of the pot, since it will shrink slightly as it bakes. Bake until pastry is lightly golden brown, about 15 minutes.
• Remove tarte Tatin from oven and let cool completely, at least 1 hour; cooling overnight at room temperature is recommended. (Unmolding the tarte when it is still warm may cause it to fall apart.) Once cool, warm the pan over medium heat for 1 minute; this will help the tarte Tatin come out of the pan more easily. Remove from heat and run a paring knife around the outer edge of the tarte to gently release the apples from the side of the pan. Place a serving platter over the pan; holding the platter firmly to the pan with a kitchen towel, quickly and carefully invert to flip the tarte Tatin onto the platter. Serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or crème fraîche (optional).

TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• To make the pastry dough, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine all the ingredients for the dough and mix at low speed until just smooth. Gather the dough into a ball (it will be quite soft), flatten to a thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• When ready to bake the tart, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare the apples. Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart pan with straight sides or a 9-inch cake pan. Sprinkle the bottom with 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Arrange the apples neatly in the pan, rounded side down. Sprinkle them with the remaining sugar and dot with the remaining butter.
• On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a disk just slightly larger than the tart pan. Cover the apples with the pastry, tucking the edges of the dough over the apples. Using a pastry brush, brush the surface of the dough with some of the egg yolk.
• Bake the tart in the middle of the oven until the dough is very lightly browned and the apples are just tender when poked through the dough with the tip of a paring knife, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes.
• Place a serving plate upside down on top of the tart pan. Using kitchen mitts, grasp the edges of the plate and the pan and quickly invert the pan. Remove the pan. Cut the tart into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

TARTE TATIN(COOKS ILLUSTRATED)

Steps:

• Cut one half cup of butter into small chunks and chill thoroughly.
• Combine the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in the food processor. Add the chilled butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg and pulse for several seconds until the dough comes together. Turn out onto the counter and shape into a disc. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate thirty minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt the remaining half cup of butter in 9-inch skillet with the granulated sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the caramel begins to brown and turn amber gold. Increase the heat to medium high and add the apple slices. Saute until slightly transparent, about five minutes. Remove from the heat and arrange the apples in a rosette pattern in the skillet (it may be easiest to transfer most of the slices to a bowl and add them back in as the rosette is formed.) Set aside and preheat the oven to 425°.
• Unwrap the chilled dough and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar. Gently roll into a ten to twelve inch circle, using sugar liberally on the work surface to prevent the pastry from sticking. Carefully roll the dough around the rolling pin and transfer to the top of the caramelized apples. Tuck the crust around the edges of the skillet to seal in the apples, folding the excess over.
• Bake until the crust is golden brown, about twenty to twenty five minutes. Let the skillet cool for an additional twenty minutes before carefully running a knife around the edge to loosen the pastry. Place the serving plate over the top of the skillet, invert and remove the skillet. Gently rearrange any apples stuck to the skillet back into the pastry. Serve the tarte tatin warm with 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.

TARTE TATIN WITH ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat a 10-inch cast iron frying pan over medium heat. Melt sugar, butter, rosemary, and cinnamon together in the hot pan, stirring constantly, until syrup is a rich caramel color, about 8 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low. Add apple slices, arranging them in a decorative swirl starting from the outside edges of the pan, rounded sides-down, as tart will be turned upside-down when served. Simmer, uncovered, until apples are slightly tender yet firm, about 10 minutes. Shake the pan occasionally to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.
• Trim corners of puff pastry to form a 10-inch circle. Place pastry over apples and push down between apples and the edge of the pan using the tip of a knife.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pastry is golden and puffed, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
• Loosen the edges of the tart from the pan using a knife. Invert a serving plate over the pan and then, holding the pan and plate together firmly, invert them together. Lift off the pan. Cut tart into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.