Tarte Tatin

Tarte Tatin
Originally uploaded by Sheepish.

I've not put much thought or time (and most noticeably, pictures) into my blog lately. My life has been a bit busier this week. That doesn't mean, however, that I haven't been thinking of you.

So, today we've got a few photos, and by way of apology for my recent lack of enthusiasm, a recipe. Yum!

This is a Tarte Tatin, which is basically an Apple Upside-down Pie (to modify the Pineapple Upside-down Cake name). It's probably one of the easiest desserts to make, and the results are so worth the little effort involved.

The proof (I think I've made this from a recipe long ago, but this one is just of made-up):

Ingredients:

1 flaky pie crust (store-bought or homemade)
2 large apples (doesn't matter what kind as long as they won't fall apart when baked), peeled and sliced to random thicknesses (I'm not very careful in my cooking)
4 tablespoons sugar
a bit of water

Instructions:
Heat oven to whatever temp you usually bake a pie on (mine's a gas oven, with 1-8, so I can't give an exact temp)

Place sugar in round metal baking dish (the kind usually used for layer cakes). Or in a sauce pan if cooking your baking dish on the stovetop makes you nervous.

Heat sugar till brown and bubbly. Add a bit of water to obtain a thin syrup. Lay sliced apples (hopefully in a prettier arrangement than mine) over caramel sauce you just made. Then, lay the crust over the apples. Fold whatever bit of crust edge hanging over into the pan so that it lays reasonably flat (not going up the sides of the pan). Poke a few holes in the crust with a fork. Bake in oven till crust is golden.

Remove pan from oven and flip out onto a plate (place plate upside-down over top of baking dish, holding plate and baking dish with two mitt-covered hands, flip). Carefully remove baking dish and pie should be apple-side up on the plate. You may need to re-place a few of the apple slices on the pie - some may stick to the dish. Let cool briefly then serve warm. It's delicious with a bit of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or some other type of topping - or all by its yummy self.

Tada! How's that for a quick/impressive dessert?