Larrys Tarte Tatin Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Add the sugar to a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Cook gently, swirling often until the sugar melts and becomes golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.
• Peel, core and halve the apples. Begin arranging the apple halves in a circular shape around the border of the skillet, standing them on the core ends. Fill the center part of the skillet with a smaller circle of the apples. Fill in any gaps with the smaller top and bottom pieces. Because the fruit will shrink considerably as it cooks, it is better to crowd the pan with fruit.
• Place the skillet back on the stovetop on a fairly high heat and cook until the fruit starts to become tender and soak up the caramel at the bottom, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat again and rotate each apple piece halfway so the tops of the fruit are now sitting in the caramel on the bottom. Return the skillet to the heat and cook for an additional 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.
• Roll the puff pastry dough on a lightly floured surface so it's larger than the skillet by 1 inch. Gently drape it over the skillet. Tuck the dough edges loosely inside the skillet so it covers the fruit (as if you are tucking the fruit into a pastry bed).
• Bake until bubbly around the edges, golden brown and delicious, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and cool 5 to 10 minutes. Then, scoop and spoon onto plates. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In the bowl of a food processor, mix the flour, sugar and salt for a second or two. Add the butter and shortening. Process for a few seconds, until the mixture looks grainy.
• Put mixture into a bowl. Add water, mixing with a fork until a ball forms. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, core and quarter the apples, leaving the skins on.
• On a floured board, roll out the dough in a circle about 10 inches in diameter. It doesn't have to be smooth and perfect.
• Melt the sugar over high heat in a 10-inch pan that can withstand heat when placed on the stove or in the oven. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon. If the sugar seems as if it might burn, add a teaspoon of water. After the sugar melts, it will caramelize, turning a rich brown color. At that point, remove pan from stove and pour in the apples. Cover the top with the dough, folding down the edges to cover the apples.
• Bake the tarte Tatin for 40 or 45 minutes, until the crust is done.
• As soon as it is done, take the pan out of the oven, put a large plate over the top of the pan and flip the pan upside down so the tart lands on the plate, apples up and crust down.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Peel and core the apples, then cut them into quarters.
• Spread the butter on the bottom of a 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet. Mix the sugar, salt and vanilla together to evenly distribute the caviar. Sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the butter. Squeeze over the lemon juice.
• Place the apple quarters cut-side up on top. Remember, the bottom will become the top so make it look pretty. Put the pan over medium heat and cook until the sugar melts, caramelizes and begins to thicken. The apples will release their juices during this process, so it could take 10 to 15 minutes. If the juices start getting too dark, lower the heat a little.
• While the apples are cooking, take the puff pastry out of the fridge. Use a knife to cut a circle just big enough to fit over the top of the apples in the skillet. Keep chilled.
• When the sugar has caramelized, place the pastry circle over the apples, gently tucking in the sides. Transfer to the oven and bake until the pastry is risen and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let rest 10 to 15 minutes.
• Carefully turn the tarte tatin out onto a serving plate. Serve with whipped cream.

Steps:

• At least one day before you plan to cook the tart, prepare the apples: Slice off the bottom of each apple so it has a flat base. Peel and quarter the apples. Use a small sharp knife to trim the hard cores and seeds from the center of each quarter; don't worry about being too neat. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate, lightly covered, for at least one day or up to three days. (This key step reduces the amount of liquid in the tart. Don't worry if the apples turn brown; they will be browned during the cooking anyway.)
• When ready to cook, heat oven to 375 degrees (or 350 if using convection). Thickly coat the bottom of a 10-inch heavy ovenproof skillet, preferably nonstick metal, with butter. Sprinkle sugar evenly on top.
• Cut one piece of apple into a thick round disk and place in the center of the skillet to serve as the "button." Arrange the remaining apple pieces, each one standing on its flat end, in concentric circles around the button. Keep the pieces close together so that they support one another, standing upright. They will look like the petals of a flower.
• On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry about 1/8-inch thick. Place an upside-down bowl or pan on the pastry and use the tip of a sharp knife to cut out a circle about the same size as the top of your skillet. Lift out the circle and drape gently over the apples. Use your hands to tuck the pastry around the apple pieces, hugging them together firmly.
• Place the skillet on the stovetop over medium heat until golden-brown juice begins to bubble around the edges, 3 minutes (if the juices keep rising, spoon out as needed to remain level with pastry). If necessary, raise the heat so that the juices are at a boil. Keep cooking until the juices are turning darker brown and smell caramelized, no longer than 10 minutes more.
• Transfer skillet to the oven and bake 45 to 50 minutes, until puff pastry is browned and firm.
• Let cool 5 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a round serving plate. (Or, if not serving immediately, let cool completely in the pan; when ready to serve, rewarm for 15 minutes in a 350-degree oven before turning out.) If any apples remain stuck in the pan, gently use your fingers or a spatula to retrieve them, and rearrange on the pastry shell. Cut in wedges and serve warm with heavy cream, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.

Steps:

• For the caramels: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
• Reserve 1/2 cup caramels for serving. Put 6 of the remaining caramels on the prepared baking sheet and bake until bubbly and slightly dark around the edges, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheet, then crush into a fine powder in a food processor; set aside.
• For the filling: Combine the remaining caramels with the milk, salt and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to just below a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch, egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl until smooth. While continually whisking, slowly pour in about half of the milk mixture until combined. Transfer the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened like pudding, 2 to 4 minutes.
• Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface, and refrigerate until chilled, 2 hours to overnight.
• For the crepes: Puree the milk, flour, granulated sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and eggs in a blender on high speed until well mixed. Let the batter rest in the blender for 1 hour at room temperature or refrigerate up to 24 hours.
• Before cooking, re-blend the batter on high speed for 30 seconds. Wipe 1/2 teaspoon butter on a medium crepe pan or 8-inch nonstick skillet in a very thin layer with a paper towel. Heat the pan over medium until hot.
• Ladle 3 tablespoons batter into the pan. Working quickly off the heat, swirl and shake the pan to evenly coat the bottom. Return to the heat and cook the crepe, reducing the heat if it's browning too quickly, until the edges are light golden, about 2 minutes. Carefully loosen the crepe from the pan and flip it with a spatula. Cook until a few brown spots appear, 15 to 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter, wiping the pan with butter each time. Stack the crepes on the plate as you go (you should have about 20). Let them cool for 10 minutes before filling.
• Finish the filling: Beat the heavy cream and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Stir one-quarter of the cream mixture into the caramel filling, then gently fold in the rest.
• Put 1 crepe on a platter and top with a 1/4 cup filling, spreading it to the edge. Repeat, stacking the remaining crepes and filling, and ending with a crepe. Refrigerate overnight.
• Microwave the reserved 1/2 cup caramels, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted, about 1 minute. Top the cake with whipped cream, drizzle with the melted caramel and sprinkle with the caramel powder.

Steps:

• To make crust, whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt in large bowl. Add 1/2 cup chilled butter cubes and egg yolks. Using fingertips, rub butter and yolks into flour mixture until coarse meal forms. Gently knead crust in bowl until ball forms, about 4 minutes. Flatten ball into disk. Wrap in plastic and 1 hour. (Crust can be made 1 day ahead and kept refrigerated.).
• Preheat oven to 350.
• For filling, scatter 1/2 cup butter cubes over bottom of a 12-inch ovenproof skillet. Sprinkle 1 cup sugar on top. Arrange apple halves, cut side up, over sugar (you will have some halves left over). Cut remaining apple halves into thin slices; tuck enough apple slices between apple halves to fill in gaps.
• Heat skillet over medium heat until sugar and butter melt. Cook, shifting pan often for even cooking, until sugar syrup is deep amber, tucking in more apple slices as more gaps form, about 45 minutes. Cool until bubbling stops, about 10 minutes.
• Roll out crust on floured surface to an almost 13 inch round. Place crust atop hot apples, pressing in around apples at edges of pan. Bake in preheated oven until crust is golden brown, about 35 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool to room temperature.
• Heat skillet over medium high heat 3 minutes to loosen apple pie filling. Place large plate over skillet. Using oven mitts, hold plate and skillet together and invert, shaking gently to release tart onto plate. Rearrange any apples that may have become dislodged. Cut tart into wedges; serve with vanilla ice cream.

Steps:

• Roll the pastry to a 3mm-thick round on a lightly floured surface and cut a 24cm circle, using a plate as a guide. Lightly prick all over with a fork, place on a baking sheet, then cover and freeze while preparing the apples.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Peel, quarter and core the apples. Put the sugar in a flameproof 20cm ceramic tatin dish or a 20cm ovenproof heavy-based frying pan and place over a medium-high heat. Cook the sugar for 5-7 mins to a dark amber caramel syrup that's starting to smoke, then turn off the heat and stir in the 60g diced chilled butter.
• To assemble the tarte tatin, arrange the apple quarters very tightly in a circle around the edge of the dish first, rounded-side down, then fill in the middle in a similar fashion. Gently press with your hands to ensure there are no gaps. Brush the fruit with the melted butter.
• Bake in the oven for 30 mins, then remove and place the disc of frozen puff pastry on top - it will quickly defrost. Tuck the edges down the inside of the dish and, with a knife, prick a few holes in the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake for a further 40-45 mins until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.
• Allow to cool to room temperature for 1 hr before running a knife around the edge of the dish and inverting it onto a large serving plate that is deep enough to contain the juices. Serve with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.