Classic Tarte Tatin In A Cast Iron Skillet 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 -- EASY VERSION

Steps:

• Mix sugar and melted butter and press evenly into greased 8" or 9" round cake pan.
• Put apples on their sides in rows decoratively around pan, packing closely together and filling small spaces with broken segments of apples.
• Sprinkle tops of apples lightly with cinnamon if desired.
• Bake uncovered at 425F about 1-1 ½ hours.
• If apples start to burn, they can be covered toward the end of the baking time.
• Meanwhile, unfold pastry sheet and cut to fit pan. Use another pan to trace shape if necessary.
• Poke fork holes into both sides of puff pastry sheet to allow air to escape while baking.
• Press pastry on top of baked apples, pushing edges down. Bake another 20 minutes.
• Cool partially, then invert to a platter. Serve warm.

TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Add the sugar to a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Cook gently, swirling often until the sugar melts and becomes golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.
• Peel, core and halve the apples. Begin arranging the apple halves in a circular shape around the border of the skillet, standing them on the core ends. Fill the center part of the skillet with a smaller circle of the apples. Fill in any gaps with the smaller top and bottom pieces. Because the fruit will shrink considerably as it cooks, it is better to crowd the pan with fruit.
• Place the skillet back on the stovetop on a fairly high heat and cook until the fruit starts to become tender and soak up the caramel at the bottom, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat again and rotate each apple piece halfway so the tops of the fruit are now sitting in the caramel on the bottom. Return the skillet to the heat and cook for an additional 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.
• Roll the puff pastry dough on a lightly floured surface so it's larger than the skillet by 1 inch. Gently drape it over the skillet. Tuck the dough edges loosely inside the skillet so it covers the fruit (as if you are tucking the fruit into a pastry bed).
• Bake until bubbly around the edges, golden brown and delicious, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and cool 5 to 10 minutes. Then, scoop and spoon onto plates. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a heavy-bottom 10-inch ovenproof or cast-iron skillet, stir together the 3/4 cup sugar and the vinegar. Scrape the vanilla seeds into the skillet (save the vanilla bean for another use). Heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Cook over medium heat, without stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is amber in color (like a brown paper bag). Remove from the heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and swirl until the butter has melted. Let cool for 10 minutes.
• Carefully arrange the apples over the sugar mixture in concentric circles, being careful not to touch the hot sugar mixture. Dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
• Place the puff pastry over the apples and tuck the sides down around the apples. Sprinkle the 1 tablespoon sugar over the dough. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and crisp and the pan juices are bubbling. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully invert onto a rimmed cake plate to serve.

TARTE TATIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Roll pastry sheet into a 101/2-inch square on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin. Brush off excess flour and cut out a 10-inch round with a sharp knife, using a plate as a guide. Transfer round to a baking sheet and chill.
• Spread butter thickly on bottom and side of skillet and pour sugar evenly over bottom. Arrange as many apples as will fit vertically on sugar, packing them tightly in concentric circles. Apples will stick up above rim of skillet.
• Cook apples over moderately high heat, undisturbed, until juices are deep golden and bubbling, 18 to 25 minutes. (Don't worry if juices color unevenly.)
• Put skillet in middle of oven over a piece of foil to catch any drips. Bake 20 minutes (apples will settle slightly), then remove from oven and lay pastry round over apples.
• Bake tart until pastry is browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer skillet to a rack and cool at least 10 minutes.
• Just before serving, invert a platter with lip over skillet and, using potholders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert tart onto platter. Replace any apples that stick to skillet. (Don't worry if there are black spots; they won't affect the flavor of the tart.) Brush any excess caramel from skillet over apples. Serve immediately.