Mini Tarte Tatins

Mini Tarte Tatins ~ A classic French dessert scaled down and simplified for individual servings.

Well if you follow me you knew this couldn’t be too far behind after I minified the classic French potato side dish, Pommes Anna.  Trade out the savory portion for some apples caramelized in sugar and butter and you have what you see here.

I love this dessert; it’s simple in flavor and technique. I haven’t made this in awhile and when I initially planned on making this I remembered why I hadn’t made it in a while. The last time a Tarte Tatin came out of the oven Matt wasn’t into it, in fact he wouldn’t even try it. Aside from being super picky he doesn’t like baked fruit in chunks and the presentation was less than appetizing to him.

Um, I won’t tell you what his description was, but here’s what a classic Tarte Tatin looks like – are you seeing it? Once he said it, I kind of agreed with him, so this time around I was determined to make a better looking Tarte Tatin.

I’m not sure this is all that much better, but it was much more appetizing in looks to the both of us. And of course all the same simple flavors of this rustic dessert was uncompromised.

A few notes:

• Use a mandoline or a vegetable peeler to make paper thin slices. If you use a mandoline I recommend wearing an oyster glove on the moving hand, so that if for some awful reason your fruit or vegetable should disconnect from the gripper while in motion, you won’t get sliced up.
• Make sure to use crisp apples and not mealy ones. I used Honey Crisp apples for this recipe, but as always your palate your choice.
• For another seasonal variation try making a Persimmon Tarte Tatin.
• This is drippy when baked, so make sure to place a bake sheet underneath to catch any dripping, otherwise you will have a smoky kitchen and fire alarms going off.
• To shortcut the recipe by one step use store bought puff pastry. I had frozen pate brisee, so I  used that.
• Tarte Tatins are best served the day they are made. They are also great served along side a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Apple Tarte Tatin

Makes 8 individual Tarte Tatins

Preparation: Heat oven to 500 degrees F. Butter bottoms of muffin tin holes. Line bakesheet with parchment and set aside.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sized apples
• 2 tablespoons of lemon
• 3 oz. butter
• 3 oz. granulated sugar, plus 1 oz for divided use
• Pate Brisee or store bought puff pastry

Instructions:

1.  Core and peel apples. Cut apples in half vertically. Slice cut apples into paper thin pieces with vegetable peeler or a mandoline.  Toss sliced apples with a lemon juice to prevent browning.

2. Place 3 oz of sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Using the handle of the pot swirl the sugar every once in awhile. The sugar will start to turn amber around the edge of the pot as it does continue to swirl the pot until the white sugar disappears into the melted amber colored sugar.  Turn off the heat and remove the pot. Pour 1 tablespoon of caramelized sugar into bottoms of muffin tins.  Place apples slices in a circular pattern with each slice overlapping one another.  Arrange second layer working in the opposite direction of the first; continue until muffin hole is almost filled. Leave ¼ inch space from top for pastry dough.  Cover pan with foil and place in the oven for about 10 minutes until apples soften.

3. Remove pan and sprinkle remaining sugar on top of apples and then place a 2-3 small dots of butter on top. Lastly, cover tops with pastry dough.  Turn oven down to 450 degrees F and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

4. Allow tarte tatin to cool for 2-3 minutes. Run a knife along the edge of pan to release the sides and then place parchment lined bakesheet directly on top of muffin pan and holding both pans together quickly flip it over so that the bakesheet is the bottom. Sharply tap pan muffin pan for the Tarte Tatins to be released.