Better Than Apple Pie

So I'm making "my" now famous Beouf Bourguinon, (sorry about that, Julia), for dinner with friends this weekend, and it occurs to me that I need a really good, but not complicated, dessert to show off and finish off the meal -- maybe something French, fallish and fruity -- when I remember seeing this recipe for Tarte Tatin, (that's an upside down apple tart), in the October issue of Cooking Light magazine. Sounds perfect, and it was.

I confess that I've never been a big apple pie fan and, to be completely honest, apples aren't near the top of my list when it comes to favorite fruits. However, I do like caramel, and pastry, and you really can't argue with the wonderful fragrance baking apples send throughout the house; all reasons enough to give it a try. Plus, I'm always looking for an opportunity to use my cast iron skillet, an implement I consider to be one of the most under-rated and under-used pieces of hardware in any kitchen.

The dessert itself is very easy to prepare. The only tricky part is getting it out of the pan after baking. If you try to invert it onto the plate too soon you'll end up with a syrupy mess, (and you'll probably burn your hands as well), and if you let it sit too long, the caramelized sugar will harden and it won't come out of the pan. (If this happens, return it to the oven for a few minutes to loosen.) Worst case, the pastry will release and leave the apples in the pan, which isn't exactly a disaster because you can always scoop them out with a spatula, pop them onto the crust and pat them into place. Nobody will know the difference, nor will they care once they taste this little slice of apple heaven.

It's not your Mom's apple pie. Heck, it's not even American. But once you're tried it you'll never settle for plain old apple pie again.

Oh, and about that Cooking Light part? You knew it was too good to be true, didn't you? The magazine gives the calorie count at 275 calories per serving for TEN servings! Er, better make that ten SLIVERS. This tart will serve SIX, assuming everybody has what any normal food loving human being would consider an average size portion. So let's just say it makes six servings at 458 1/3 calories each. And it's worth every one of them.

TARTE TATIN

Pastry
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 or 3 tablespoons water
1 large egg

Filling
1 cup sugar
2 pounds Golden Delicious apples (5 large or 6 small) cored and cut into six slices each
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Creme fraiche (to serve on top)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut butter into flour and salt with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Whisk together 2 tablespoons water with the egg and add to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. (If too stiff, add additional 1 tablespoon water.)

Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead lightly 4 or 5 times. Pat dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and let chill at least 30 minutes.

Combine 1/4 cup water and sugar in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar caramelizes and is golden in color. Remove from heat, tilting pan to evenly distribute cooked sugar, and let stand 5 minutes.

Arrange apple slices tightly in a circular pattern over sugar. Place pan over medium heat and cook 20 minutes, pressing down on apples slightly to extract juices. Remove from heat, sprinkle with cinnamon, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Turn dough onto floured surface and roll into an 11-inch circle. Place over apple mixture, fitting dough between apples and skillet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 10 to 15 minutes. Invert tart onto a plate.

Serve with creme fraiche. It really is better than apple pie.