La Tarte Tatin

-OPTIONAL ACCOMPANIMENT-
Whipped cream -or-
Sour cream -or-
Vanilla ice cream

Julia Child says in her book, THE WAY TO COOK, “A famous upside-down apple
tart. Tarte Tatin is the French name for this famous dessert invented years
ago by the Demoiselles Tatin, in their restaurant at Lamotte-Beuvron on the
Loire River. It is caramelized sliced apples oven baked in a skillet with
the pastry on top; when done, it is turned upside down so the crust is on
the botton and the apple slices–wonderfully brown, buttery, and glazed
with caramel–remain in a design on the top.”

She continues with a historical note. “The following is my fourth and, so
far as I am concerned, definitive recipe for this wonderful tart. It can be
tricky–the caramel juices can refuse to thicken, the apples can be either
so loose the tart collapses when unmolded, or so stiff they stick to the
pan, and so forth. But after numerous trials with my colleagues Nancy Barr
and Beth Gurney, I think we have worked out the bugs.”

The recipe from Child’s book: THE WAY TO COOK by Julia Child

for an 8-inch tart, serving 6

Special Equipment Suggested: A heavy ovenproof frying pan, such as
cast-iron, 9 by 2 inches with fairly straight sides, or heavy no-stick
alumininum; a bulb baster; a cover for the pan; a large enough flat
bottomed serving dish.

NOTE: the right apple is essential here. (Accordiong to Childs on page 424
other varieties that should do well for this dish, include: Granny Smith,
Baldwin, Northern Spy, Newtown Pippin, Rhode Island Greening, Rome Beauty,
or York Imperial. Regional differences will account for what is available.)

Preparing the apples. Quarter, core, and peel the apples, cut the quarters
in half lenghtwise. Toss in a bowl with the lemon and 1/2 cup of sugar, and
steep 20 minutes so they will exude their jucies. Drain them.

The caramel. Set the frying pan over moderately high heat with the butter,
and when melted blend in the remaining sugar. Stir about with a woooen
spoon for several minutes, until the syrup turns a bubbly caramel brown–it
will smooth out later, when the apple juices dissolve the sugar.

Arranging the apples in the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and arrange a
layer of apple slices nicely in the bottom of the pan to make an attractive
design, (According to the photo in the book, arrange the apples first
around the outside and then in the middle.) Arrange the rest of the apples
on top, close packed and only reasonably neat. Add enough so they heap up 1
inch higher than the rim of the pan–they sink down as they cook.

Preliminary stove-top cooking–20 to 25 minutes. (Preheat the oven to 425
degrees F. for the next step, placing the rack in the lower middel level.
Set the pan over moderately high heat, pressing the apples down as they
soften and drawing the accumulated juices up over them with the bulb
baster–basting gives the whole apple mass a deliciously buttery caramel
flavor. In several minutes, when the apples begin to soften, cover the pan
and continue cooking 10 to 15 minutes, checking and basting frequently
until the juices are thick and syrupy. Remove from heat, and let cool
slightly while you roll out the dough.

The dough cover. Roll the chilled dough into circle 1/16 inch thick and 1
inch larger than the top of your pan. Cut 4 steam holes, 1/4 inch size, 1
1/2 inches from around the center of the dough. Working rapidly, fold the
dough in half, then in quarters, center the point over the apples. Unnfold
the dough over the apples. Press the edges of the dough down between the
apples and the inside of the pan.

Baking–about 20 minutes at 425 degrees F. Bake until the pastry has
browned and crisped. Being careful of the red-hot pan handle, remove from
the oven.

Verification. Tilt the pan, and if the juices are runny rather than a thick
syrup, boil down rapidly on top of the stove, but be sure not to evaporate
then completely or the apples will stick to the pan.

Serving. Still remembering that the pan is red-hot, turn the serving dish
upside down over the apples and reverse the two to unmold the tart. If not
quite neat in design–which does happen–rearrange slices as necessary.
Serve hot, warm, or cold, with the optional cream or ice cream.