For an assist, watch the recipe in the main post. This recipe is designed for an 8-inch tart. Once you've mastered it, scale up to a 10-inch skillet and double the butter, sugar and apples. Increase the amount of pastry to fit the pan.
Ingredients
1 ½ to 1 ¾poundstart-sweet apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
6 to 8ouncespiecrust dough or puff pastry,thawed if needed
4tablespoon(½ stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter
½cup(3.5 oz) plus 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle position. Select an oven-safe 8-inch skillet to make the tart.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out or unfold the dough to a thickness of roughly ⅛ inch. Invert the skillet over the dough and cut a dough round so it extends between the skillet rim by about ½ inch. Transfer the dough to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered.
Put the butter and sugar in the skillet and heat over medium. When the butter and sugar have melted (you see lots of liquid), reduce the heat to medium-low. Start adding in the apples, cut side down, around the skillet’s edge. Let them touch and hug tightly because they’ll soften and shrink later. Arrange smallish pieces in the center. If needed, cut bigger pieces to fit. You may not use all the apple pieces at this point.
Let bubble and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Expect little action at the beginning. As the apples soften, slide more apple pieces into openings that you spot. Aim to use all the apple pieces. Don’t forget the center pieces. It’s okay to slide raw pieces under cooked ones in the center.
Expect the liquidy part to bubble and thicken during cooking. When liquid is caramelizing -- the center liquid is orange-honey -- remove the skillet from the heat.
After bubbling calms down, place the pastry on top. Use a knife tip to push the edge down and around the apples.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. During the last few minutes, fill a medium (10-inch) skillet with ice. When the tart is done, set the skillet on top of the ice to quickly cool. Once all the ice has melted, remove the tart skillet and set aside until you’re ready to serve, at least 20 minutes before serving.
To unmold, gently warm the tart skillet over low heat. After 6 to 8 minutes, when you can hear a very faint hiss, turn off the heat. Put a serving plate over the skillet, then bravely invert to unmold. Cut into wedges and serve.
Notes
Spice it up: If you like, sprinkle ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, nutmeg, mace or cardamom onto the apples as the cook in the pan.Troubleshooting: If apple pieces stick to the skillet, retrieve them with a metal spatula or knife and patch up the tart. Gelatin-like bits clinging to the skillet may also be used to beautify the tart.Miss nothing. SUBSCRIBE to my recipes, posts + newsletter!