Caramel Apple...Tarte Tatin

I've always wanted to make a Tarte Tatin - it's a simple enough recipe, essentially an upside-down apple pie, but somehow it's also more. The beauty of the caramelized apples, arranged in a soft amber patter, the rich pie crust and the fact that it's baked in a skillet (yes, this latter point always fascinated me) makes it an especially special dessert.

I googled my way to a recipe, one that Epicurious was happy to provide - a Tarte Tatin with Brandied Caramel Sauce. First a medley of apples - I used a mix of Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and the last of my Jonagolds - arranging them into a circular pattern.

Next, the brandy caramel sauce - this is what gives the apples that lovely amber color, rich and sweet, yet the tartness of the apples do match up well with it.

Finally, the pie crust goes over the sauced apples, like a blanket, and into the 400 deg F oven it goes for about 55 minutes. (see recipe for more detail)

The tricky part is the flip - I used a large pie plate as my base for the flip so in case anything decided to crumble apart, it was safely ensconced in the pie plate.

This was what I made for Thanksgiving last year  - let's just say I might not be going back to traditional apple pie anytime soon.