Tarte Tatin -- Charlie Palmer               

 tags (edit): @High End @Try Soon! @Vogel Gourmet Magazine Desserts  

 

Adapted from Charlie Palmer. Accompaniments: "Chestnut ice cream" and "candied bacon" (included in this collection).

Palmer wanders out behind the Dry Creek Kitchen to pick the apples for this tart. He generally goes for a combination of Macouns, Pippins, and/or Gravensteins, but we used easy-to-find Golden Delicious and were very pleased with the results. Palmer likes to serve this French classic warm, with a scoop of chestnut ice cream and crisp strips of candied bacon alongside. The three elements make for a textural symphony, but this caramelized beauty is also fantastic paired with a humble scoop of store-bought vanilla -- or even by itself.

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry (from a 17 1/4-oz package), thawed
5 medium Macoun Pippin, Gravenstein, or Golden Delicious apples (2 3/4 lb)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into pieces
 

Instructions
 Special equipment: a pastry brush; a round 12-inch platter with a lip

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.

Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into an 11-inch square. Trim off corners of pastry with a sharp knife to form an 11-inch round, then transfer to a baking sheet and prick all over with a fork. Chill until ready to use.

Peel and core apples and cut each into 6 wedges.

Stir together sugar and water with a fork in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet, then cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on side of skillet with pastry brush dipped in cold water, until sugar is melted and pale golden, 5 to 6 minutes. Continue cooking, without stirring, swirling skillet, until melted into a deep amber caramel, about 1 minute more. Remove from heat and whisk in vinegar and butter until incorporated (use caution; mixture will bubble and steam vigorously).

Arrange apple wedges, a cut side down, side by side, overlapping slightly, in caramel in skillet in even concentric circles and cook over moderately low heat, undisturbed, until apples are tender and caramel is thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Drape pastry round over apples, tucking it around them.

Transfer skillet to oven and bake tart until pastry is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Cool tart in skillet on a rack 15 minutes. Invert platter over skillet, and using pot holders to hold platter and skillet firmly together, invert tart onto platter. Replace any apples that may stick to skillet and pour any caramel remaining in skillet over apples. Serve warm, with scoops of chestnut ice cream and candied bacon.

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Yields: 10 Servings
     Gourmet magazine, February 2007, page 101

 notes: 

Cuisine:  

Main Ingredient:   Apples