Tarte Tatin....Upside Down Green Apple Pie


Courtesy Of Wikipedia On Google

Culinary wonders sometimes result from mistakes during cooking.  One of those wonderful mistakes is the Tarte Tatin.


 The Tatin sisters owned an inn back in the 19th Century somewhere in France.  One of the sisters was making a traditional  apple pie when something went wrong; she forgot the apples mixed with the sugar and the butter on the fire too long and caramelized them. She quickly covered them with a sheet of pastry and continued the cooking in the oven. To her surprise her dessert was liked by all her patrons and so the Tarte Tatin was born.


First Trial Alone At Home
Second Trial At My Brother In Law's
Kitchen.









To tell you the truth I have never seen or tasted a Tarte Tatin. I have heard so much about it that I wanted to make it. My first trial was a flop according to my wife and daughter, although I loved it. The second trial was also a flop according to my brother in law, his wife, my wife and daughter so that is why you are seeing a mixture of photos here trying to explain the best way to make it. The whole secret is to succeed in making a proper caramel with the butter and all. Put your trust in me and make it. All you will lose is 1.3 kg of green apples, 50 grms of butter and 100 gms. of sugar and maybe some energy!
To make a Tarte Tatin you will need:
Serves 8-10
-  1.3 kg of Granny Smith Green Apples, peeled, cored, cut in half, and each half in 3 equal pieces.


















-  230 gms of short crust pastry (pâte brisée) round ready made bought from the super market.
-  100 gms of caster sugar.
-  3 Tbsp. water.
-  50 gms butter.
-  A small sauce pan to make the caramel in.
-  A 20 cm in diameter mold.
Method:
Ingredients and method are from "Le Petit Larousse de la Cuisine 1800 recèttes édition 2006".
-  Add the sugar, and the water on very low heat and let sugar dissolve without stirring.
-  You will see that the sugar is slowly dissolving.
-  When it start boiling, keep a close eye on it since at some point it will start darkening and the beautiful aroma of caramel will fill the kitchen.


-  At this point tilt your saucepan to unify the color.
-  That is when you have to take the saucepan off the heat.   Carefully keeping the saucepan away from you add 1 Tbsp. cold water to stop the cooking of the caramel.


-  Add the butter and let it melt,
-  Pour the caramel to cover the base of the mould. 
Tip: Be careful when you handle caramel.  Everything gets very hot.-  Start adding the apple pieces snugly together making sure you include all the pieces you have cut even if you have to add a second tier. They will appear too many but they will fit.  When cooked they will fit even better.
-  Bake for 45 minutes in a 200 degree Centigrade oven middle shelf.


-  Take out from oven and let cool.

-  Get your ready made short crust from the fridge, unroll over the mould.


-  Try as best as you can to fit the excess pastry between the mould and the apples.  Make a few holes with a fork and bake for another 35 minutes in the same temperature as above.
-  Take out from oven, let it cool.

-  Place the serving dish upsidedown on the mould, and invert, placing the pastry on the plate, and the apples facing you.








-  Let cool, serve warm or cold with fresh cream, ice cream, or just plain.
I loved it!! Many people do not like cooked apples, others like more crust on the apple such as the American double crusted apple pie my wife makes very well. Recipe to be  posted shortly.
Enjoy!
Stelio

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