Tarte Tatin with Sour Cream Pastry

A favorite! And deceptively easy to make. If you’re really pressed for time, use store-bought puff pastry or pie dough.

Sour Cream Pastry

1 1⁄2 c all-purpose flour
2 T granulated sugar
1⁄2 t kosher salt
3⁄4 c (1 1⁄2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
6 T sour cream, cold

Apples

6 T unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c granulated sugar
6-8 medium apples, peeled, cored, and halved

To make the pastry, blend flour, sugar and salt in the large bowl of a food processor. Add butter and pulse several times until butter is the size of small peas. Add sour cream and pulse until moist clumps form. Gather dough into a smooth ball; flatten into a disk. Wrap dough in plastic; refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour. (Can be made 1 or 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Let soften slightly before rolling out.)

For apples, add butter to a 10-inch diameter cast iron skillet. Sprinkle sugar over butter. Place skillet over medium-low heat and cook until butter melts, sugar begins to dissolve and mixture starts to bubble and brown slightly, about 3 minutes. Arrange apples cut side down in the skillet, placing them tightly together. Cut remaining apple halves into quarters and fill in any gaps.

Set skillet over medium heat and simmer until thick peanut butter-color syrup forms. Reposition the skillet often for even cooking, and simmer for 15 minutes. Then turn apples cut side up and fill any holes with remaining apple quarters as the halves shrink and space permits. Cook for another 5-10 minutes, then remove from heat.

Meanwhile, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Roll out pastry on a floured surface to 12-inch round; place over apples. Tuck pastry around apples at edge of skillet and press down lightly over apples in the center. Cut four 2-inch slits in the top of the pastry to vent steam.

Bake tart until pastry is a deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to the work surface; cool for 5 minutes. Cut around the edges of the skillet to loosen pastry. Place a large platter or serving plate over the skillet. Using oven mitts, hold the skillet and platter together tightly and invert, allowing tart to fall onto the platter. Carefully lift off the skillet. Rearrange any apples that may have become dislodged. Cool tart for 30 minutes.

Cut warm tart into wedges. Serve with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or crème fraîche.