Mini tarte Tatin

My first post is totally inspired by the desire to make apple tarte Tatin! All prepared to purchase a $100 Le Creuset tarte Tatin pan, Anne (owner of Kitchen Conservatory) asked why I wasn’t buying the copper tarte Tatin pan. She said the copper pan was $150. That’s a fairly steep price difference, but when I went to look at the shiny copper pan, it was actually $210. That was totally out of the question, and it made me second-guess everything about this project. Hilda jumped in and said she always makes hers in her cast iron. My hesitation of even buying this specific pan has always been the fact that I am cooking for myself, and an entire tarte Tatin is too much to eat!

Management left the building, cooking classes began, and I pondered the cast iron option. There it was, right in front of me – a 14 ounce round Lodge cast iron skillet with perfect little handles for flipping. Was it too small? How many apples could I wedge into it? Was it deep enough?

The price tag was the determining factor and increased my excitement for making my first tarte Tatin! A mere $14.95. And, if this was a success, it would be the perfect size to serve one or two.

Still unsure as to how many apples could be crammed into this pan, I purchased 4 (used 3) and modified the recipe for this size pan.

Apple Tarte Tatin

For the crust:

1/2 cup flour

2 teaspoons sugar

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 of an egg (whisk in small bowl and use just a portion)

Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until the size of small pellets. Stir in the egg and form the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes. (Hint: put in sandwich-size bag, remove air, refrigerate. Leave in bag to roll out!)

For the apples:

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup sugar

3 apples

In the Lodge pan, melt the butter. Add the sugar. Core and peel the apples, then cut in half. Nest the apples as tightly as possible in the pan, and cook on high for 10 minutes. Use tongs to turn each apple over and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Roll out the dough and place on top of the apples. Bake at 375 degrees until well-browned, about 20 minutes. Remove and let cool for 20 minutes. Turn the tart upside-down onto a platter. Serve warm.

When luscious tomatoes are in season, I will make Kelly’s incredible tomato tarte Tatin with my new little pan!