French Classics Made Easy (47 page)

TARTE TATIN

Tarte Tatin, an upside-down caramelized apple tart, was made famous by the Tatin sisters, who served this tart in their hotel restaurant in the early 1900s. It has been a very popular dessert ever since and is my favorite apple dessert.

Every chef has his own way of making this tart. Some bake it totally in the oven, while others cook the apples on top of the stove and finish baking it with its pastry in the oven. I use the second method.

The pastry used in this recipe is normal tart pastry, but if you have puff pastry in your freezer, by all means use it, as do most restaurants in France. A half recipe of
pâte brisée
is exactly the amount of dough needed, and the remainder can be frozen for another use. If, however, you are not sure of your pastry-rolling skills, use the whole recipe and roll out until ⅛ inch thick before using.

I use less butter and sugar than most tarte tatin recipes call for.

SERVES 8

10 Golden Delicious apples (about 4½ pounds; see Note)

7 tablespoons (100g) butter

½ cup plus 3 tablespoons (150g) sugar

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice or water

½ recipe Tart Pastry (
page 213
) or ½ pound Rough Puff Pastry (
page 230
)

Whipped cream or crème fraîche (optional)

1.
Preheat the oven to 425°F with the oven rack in the upper third.

2.
Peel, halve, and core the apples. With the cut side down, trim off a small slice from one side of each apple half so it can stand on its side.

3.
In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and lemon juice (if the apples are sour, use water instead) and mix well. (The sugar will not be completely dissolved at this point.)

4.
Starting at the outside of the pan, stand the apple halves on their sides, one next to the other, filling the skillet tightly. Once the outer circle is complete, place two halves together in the center and then continue placing the apples around until all are tightly packed. There may be one or two large holes that should be filled by cutting a piece of apple to fit. At this point, the apples should stand a little above the rim of the skillet (after a few minutes of cooking, the apples will begin to soften and you may be able to wedge additional pieces into the pan).

5.
Continue cooking over medium to medium-high heat for 25 to 30 minutes. The juice from the apples will first dissolve the sugar, then evaporate, and the sugar will slowly cook to the caramel stage. When the sugar bubbling around the apples is pale brown in color, place the skillet in the oven for 5 minutes. The apples will settle in the skillet.

6.
Remove the skillet from the oven and increase the heat to 475°F.

7.
Roll out the pastry as you would for a tart, keeping it round. When it is large enough to fully cover the top of the skillet, about 12 inches in diameter, roll it up onto your rolling pin and unroll it over the top of the apples. The pastry will drape down the sides of the skillet. Run a paring knife around the edge, trimming off the excess pastry.

8.
Place the skillet in the oven and bake until the pastry is lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

9.
Remove the tart from the oven and run your knife around the inside edge of the skillet to make sure that the apples and pastry are not stuck to it. Holding a round
heat-resistant platter
(never crystal) inverted over the pastry with one hand, and the handle of the skillet (wrapped in a pot holder) with the other, turn the skillet upside down and place the platter on the counter. Slowly lift off the skillet, unmolding the tart. The apples will have some spaces between them. Run a long metal spatula around the outside of the apples several times, drawing them toward the center. A border of pastry will be revealed as the apples are compressed. Use the spatula to smooth the top of the tart.

10.
A tarte tatin is best when served warm and can be reheated if necessary. Serve with whipped cream or crème fraîche, if desired.

P
REPARING
A
PPLES FOR A
T
ARTE
T
ATIN

Peel, halve, and core the apples. With the cut side down, trim off a small slice from each apple half so they will stand on their sides.

There is a special pan sold in France, and imported by a few companies in the United States, called a tarte tatin mold. Made of copper with relatively high, gently sloping sides and no handle, it is very expensive. I use a heavy aluminum or cast-iron skillet with a handle that can withstand high temperatures.

While cooking the apples on the stove, the sugary juice tends to bubble over the side of the pan, so if you have a choice of pans, choose the one with the highest sides.

NOTE

Depending on the size of the skillet and the apples, you may need as many as two more or fewer apples than called for in this recipe.

VARIATION

P
EAR
T
ARTE
T
ATIN

[TARTE TATIN AUX POIRES]

Use an equal weight of Bosc pears, peeled and halved, in place of the apples.

SWEET CREAM-PUFF PASTRY

[PÂTE À CHOUX SUCRÉE]

Cream-puff pastry is the most versatile of French pastry doughs. It can be baked in a multitude of forms, from profiteroles (miniature cream puff s) or éclairs to elaborate dessert creations, such as ParisBrest (
page 228
).

I have used the terms sweet (
sucrée
) and salted (
salée
) to differentiate between the dessert version and the savory version (see Variation) of this dough. Although the French would certainly add sugar to a cream-puff dough used to make a dessert and salt to a dough used for a savory dish, they would call both doughs simply
pâte à choux.

MAKES 20 TO 25 PROFITEROLES OR A PARIS-BREST

½ cup water

4 tablespoons (½ stick; 55g) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons (25g) sugar

¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup (70g) all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1.
In a medium-size saucepan, bring the water, butter, sugar, and vanilla to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat.

2.
Sift the flour into the liquid and stir with a wooden spoon. The pastry should resemble mashed potatoes at this point. Return to the heat and continue stirring for about 20 seconds. The pastry will dry slightly, forming a smooth mass when shaken in the pan. Remove it from the heat.

3.
Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. The pastry should cling to the sides of the pan and to the wooden spatula once all the eggs have been added. Lift your spatula and check the pastry. It should hang down 2 to 3 inches from the spatula. If the pastry clings to the spatula but does not hang, it is still a little stiff and requires a bit more egg. If the pastry runs down from the spatula, you have added too much egg, and although you could add more flour to stiffen the pastry at this point, the texture of your finished pastry would not be as good as it will be if you start again.

4.
At this point the pastry is ready to be formed. Once the pastry is formed it can be refrigerated or frozen on the baking sheet until ready to bake. However, as most home cooks do not have enough freezer space for this, you might opt for baking and then freezing for future use.

VARIATION

S
AVORY
C
REAM
-P
UFF
P
ASTRY

[PÂTE À CHOUX SALÉE]

Substitute ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper for the sugar and vanilla.

U
SING A
P
ASTRY
B
AG

1.
Place the tube inside the bag and push or shake it down so its tip pokes out of the small opening at the bottom of the bag. (If the opening is too small, cut off a piece of the bag.) To keep your batter or icing from leaking out while you fill the bag, simply twist the bag right above the tube and push the twisted portion inside the tube.

2.
Fold the top of the bag down to form a 3- to 4-inch cuff.

3.
Slip one hand underneath the cuff while you fill the bag.

4.
After the bag is filled, unfold the cuff and make an accordion pleat.