Recipe: Tarte Tatin with Variations (using puff pastry)

TARTE TATIN
"What I love most about this recipe is that I can use almost any fruit except bananas (which were almost a disaster). For drier fruits, I add more butter, and for wetter fruits (like plums) I use less. Apples are always good, and may be the best."

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
4 large apples, such as Rome or McIntosh, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
1/2 cup sugar, as needed, depending on the tartness of the apples
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Calvados or applejack liqueur
1 sheet thawed frozen puff pastry (about 8 1/2 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a heavy 9-inch skillet, preferable cast iron, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Remove from the heat and arrange the apple slices in concentric circles in the pan, sprinkling the sugar and lemon juice over the apples and dotting them with the remaining butter as you go - you will have more than one layer. Remember that the bottom layer is what you will see when the tart is inverted, so keep it as near as possible. Sprinkle with the liqueur.

Return the pan to medium heat. Cook, without stirring, until the juices are bubbling and golden brown and the apples are tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Place the puff pastry over the apples, tucking the pastry in around the inside of the skillet like a bed sheet (be careful not to burn your fingers on the hot juices).

Bake in the preheated oven until the pastry is golden brown, about 30 minutes. (You may want to place a piece of aluminum foil under the skillet to catch any juices that might bubble out.)

Immediately place a large, rimmed serving platter over the top of the skillet. Holding the platter and skillet together, carefully invert to unmold the tart and fruit onto the platter. (If you're feeling nervous, place the skillet on a large sheet of aluminum foil, than cover the skillet with the platter. Wrap the whole thing up with the foil. When you invert the foil-wrapped skillet and platter, the foil will catch any hot sauce. Open up the foil to remove the platter.) If any applies stick to the skillet, remove them with the tip of a knife and put them back onto the tarte. Pour any sauce in the pan over the tarte.

The tarte can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead. If desired, reheat it in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm.

VARIATIONS:

PEAR TART TATIN:
Substitute 6 Bosc pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges for the apples and poire Williams liqueur for the Calvados.

PEACH AND BLUEBERRY TARTE TATIN:
Substitute 6 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges for the apples and peach-flavored liqueur for the Calvados. Sprinkle 1/2 cup blueberries over the cooked peaches before topping with the pastry.

PLUM TARTE TATIN:
Substitute 6 large ripe black plums, such as Black Fruit, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges for the apples and plum liqueur or creme de cassis for the Calvados.

Make 1 (9-inch) tart
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from
Source: Kitchen Suppers by Alison Becker Hurt