Le Tarte Tatin

Thanks, largely in part, to Netflix, I was able to watch many episodes of "The French Chef" from Julia's glory days. I have to admit there are some things she did on her show that I would never even fathom attempting; the thought of lining a loaf pan with pork fat to make pate' makes my stomach turn...blech! However, as most would agree, her desert demonstrations were simply divine.

One desert, in particular, stuck with me immediately: Upside down apple tart, or Le Tarte Tatin. It is a beautiful desert of apples arranged in a heavy skillet (not a non-stick pan, something that can go in the oven under high temp.)

First you grease your pan with enough butter to stop a human heart, I'm serious, use almost a stick of butter. What is left over from that stick should be melted to assist with layering the apples. After the bottom and sides of the pan are greased pour in a 1/2 - 1 cup of sugar and makes sure it spreads all around the bottom of the pan.

Now you can arrange the apples. It is HIGHLY advised that when making this dish you select a very firm apple like Cortland, Mutsu, or Golden Delicious. If you desire to mix a few kinds of apples together, by all means do so. Peel, core, and slice your apples so they are all approximately the same size. The amount of apples you use depends entirely on how big your pan is. My cast-iron skillet is about 10 inches so I typically use between 10 and 15 apples to make the desert.

Arrange the apples in the bottom of the pan to make a nice pattern, just as you might do for an upside down cake. Once the first, or bottom-most layer is in place, sprinkle in some more sugar and melted butter, then dump the remainder of the apples in the pan. Don't worry if you have a pile of apples in the pan as they will cook down. When all the apples are in the pan and arranged sprinkle in some more sugar and melted butter. Lastly, cover the pan with a pie crust. You want the crust to just fit into the pan, if it is larger than the overall diameter of your pan, cut it down to size. Poke some holes in the crust to vent, just like you would with a standard pie.

To begin the cooking of this wonder, set your oven to 425 degrees. While it is preheating put the skillet on the burner over the highest heat you can make. This starts the caramelization of the butter and the sugar, which will, once completed, hopefully, hold the whole thing together.

When the juices in the pan sound like they are bubbling put the pan in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the pie crust looks golden brown, and completely baked. Once that is completed carefully take the pan out of the oven and put it back on the burner on high heat for about 5-10 minutes to ensure the caramelization has completed enough to bind and hold the apples in the shape of the pan.

Allow to cool a bit and then carefully un-mold onto a serving dish or platter. If it all un-molds perfectly then you are done and can enjoy this dish as a finale to any hearty meal. If it un-molds into a mess then your work is not finished, but all is not lost.

If it should make a mess once out of the pan...as it indeed did for Julia during the filming of The French Chef...simply, and carefully arrange the apples on the crust, on, or in an oven safe dish, cover with some powdered sugar, and put it under the broiler set to medium heat and watch it closely to ensure the apples don't burn. Once it looks set, carefully remove from the oven and let cool.

I enjoyed making this tart for my friends a few weeks ago, and then again this week as part of their Thanksgiving Feast. Though I did not get to partake in the second tart, which is pictured above, I am told it tasted marvelous.

In the coming days, I hope to do the same with pears!

Thank you again, Julia. Even after your passing from this world your teaching lives on!