Tart Tatin

Tarte Tatin

This iconic dessert was allegedly created by the Tatin sisters of France's Loire Valley. Legend is that while trying to repair a baking error, they ended up with this upside-down dessert of flaky pastry and apples bathed in caramel.

Crust:
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
3 1/2 pounds small Gala apples (about 9), peeled, cored, and each cut into 8 wedges
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar

1. To prepare crust, weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor; pulse until combined. Add 6 tablespoons chilled butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water, and pulse until mixture forms clumps. Gently press dough into a 6-inch circle on heavy-duty plastic wrap; cover and freeze 30 minutes.

2. To prepare filling, combine apples, juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, tossing to coat. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 9 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3/4 cup sugar to pan; cook 4 minutes or until golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat. Arrange half of apples, rounded side down, in a circular pattern over sugar mixture in pan. Top with remaining apples, rounded side up. Cook over medium heat 15 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 400°.

4. Working quickly, roll dough into an 11-inch circle on a heavily floured surface. Place dough over apples; fold edges under. Cut 4 (1-inch) slits into top of pastry using a sharp knife. Bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Place a plate upside down on top of pan. Carefully invert tart onto plate. Serve warm.


Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)
From Cooking Light, October 2008.

Dessert French Toast with Fruit

1 egg
1/3 to 1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1 slice firm white bread, such as old-fashioned white, brioche, or challah, about 1 inch thick, crusts removed, and trimmed neatly into a round or square
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp sugar, plus more to taste
1 1/2 T unsalted butter, plus more as needed for fruit
1 apple, peach or banana or 1/3 cup sliced strawberries
Flavorful honey as needed
Creme fraiche for serving

In a shallow bowl, whisk the egg until blended, then whisk in the milk and vanilla extract, using the larger amount of millk if the bread slice is particularly thick. Add the bread and let is tand until is has absorbed all of the liquid. On a plate, stir together the bread crumbs, cinnamon, and 2 tsp sugar. Dip the bread slice in the crumb mixture, coating both sides evenly.

In a saute pan, melt the 1 1/2 T butter over medium heat. Add the bread and fry, turning once, until golden brown and slightly crusty on both sides, about 6 minutes total. Remove ot a warm plate.

If using an apple, halve, core, peel and slice. In a saute pan melt 1 1/2 T butter over medium heat. Add the apple slices and saute, turning as needed, until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add honey and sugar to taste.

If using a peach or banana, peel, pit if needed, and slice. Warm 2 T honey and 1 T butter over medium heat. Add the fruit and turn the slices in the warm honey-butter mixture for a few minutes, but do not cook them.

Spoon the warmed fruit or strawberries over the bread. Top with a dollop of creme fraiche. Eat warm.

From Solo Suppers, by Joyce Goldstein.