Apple Tarte Tartin

With 42 bushes of Heirloom Newtown Pipin Apples you have to ask – what to do with so many apples? We make apple butter, caramelized apple preserves, a french apple mustard and an apple & onion relish – but what I like most with the abundance of apples is the tarte tartin that I make for the holidays.

Quite simply, a decadent desert – sweet with caramel dripping off  tart apples. Just enough work at the end of a dinner to delight both family and friends, filling the house with a lovely fragrance of baking apples, buttery caramel and warm winter spices.

I make the pie crust in advance so you only need to attend to the apples and the caramel just before your dinner.

Apple Tarte Tartin

8  to 9 Newton Pipin apples or any variety that you enjoy – try some thing tart like a Winesap.

1 Lemon for juice & zest

4 oz Unsalted butter – we use Ronnybrook – remember the better the butter the better the caramel

1/2 cup sugar

Optional Spices i.e. nutmeg, cinnamon, sea salt and or vanilla

1 All Butter Pie Crust (See separate post)

1 Cast iron skillet or any pan that can be used to cook in a hot oven

Recipe

1 – Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2 – Zest the lemon – reserve

3 – Juice the lemon and add it to a bowl of water – this is your acidulated water.

4 – Peel core and slice the apples adding the slices to acidulated water to keep from browning – reserve.

5 -Spread the butter on the bottom of the skillet –  sprinkling the sugar on top. cook to a syrup.

6 – Add the zest of the lemon. I also add vanilla and nutmeg but cinnamon is also nice.

As an option you can now add 1/2 t sea salt if your prefer a salted caramel.

7 – Drain the apples on paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible.  Pat dry with a second towel.

8- Working quickly make concentric circles of apples around the skillet.  Layer the apples in two or three neat layers – mounding to the middle.

9 – Cover the apples and cook on top of the stove over a moderate heat undisturbed for 20 minutes until the apples are golden and the juices are bubbling.

10 – Remove the cover and move the apples to the oven and cook for another 20 minutes – this will help to reduce the liquid and dry out the apples allowing them to caramelize.

11 -While the apples are baking, roll out the pie crust on a floured surface – sized just about 2 “ larger than your skillet/pan.

12 – remove the apples from the oven and lay the crust over the apples – trimming and tucking the pie crust to firmly hold the apples.

13 – Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the crust is golden.

14 – Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Undisturbed.

15 – Put a platter over the skillet – inverting  the tart onto the platter.  Replace any apples that have stuck to the skillet and serve immediately.