Tarte Tatin

By TPMay

Ingredients

• 6 Gala apples
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 vanilla bean
• Pinch of salt
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• Whipped cream, for garnish

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the oven to 300°F. Cut off both ends of each apple, then peel. Remove each core with an apple corer. Cut each apple in half, then set aside.
Place an 8-inch sauté pan on medium heat. Slowly sprinkle the sugar into the hot pan, about 1 teaspoon at a time, until the sugar turns a medium-dark caramel. Add the butter to the pan; mix with the sugar until fully blended. Add the vanilla bean and salt.
Arrange the apple halves standing up, nestling them into one another around the circumference of the pan. Approximately 10 halves should fit. Stand the last 2 halves in the middle. Cover the top with aluminum foil, making sure the sides are tight, so no steam escapes.
Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven; remove the foil. With a pastry brush, brush the tops of the apples with the collected liquid. Return the pan to the oven; bake for another 30 minutes. While baking, cut a piece of baking parchment into a 9-inch circle. When the apples are done, place the parchment on top of them, then set 2 plates or a heavy pan on top of the parchment. Let cool. Increase the oven temperature to 325° F.
While the apples cool, unfold the puff pastry and cut it into an 8-inch round. Set the pastry on a piece of parchment; top the pastry with another piece of parchment. Place the pastry and parchment between 2 sheet pans; bake for 12 minutes at 325° F or until golden brown. Remove the parchment. Let cool.
Remove the parchment from on top of the apples in the sauté pan, and place the pan on the stove over low heat for 1 minute, to loosen the apples from the pan. Remove the vanilla bean. Place the baked puff pastry on top of the apples in the pan. Top with a piece of parchment and then a sheet pan; carefully invert the sauté pan onto the sheet pan. Transfer to a plate. Serve topped with whipped cream.