Chef notes
Tart fresh cranberries and a generous hit of sea salt balance out the sweet brown sugar caramel in this simple upside-down apple tart. The tart starts out on the stovetop to cook down the apples and caramelize the sugar, before being topped with puff pastry and transferring to the oven to finish baking. No need for special baking pans here — just a classic cast-iron pan or a good heavy-bottom nonstick skillet will work well for this.
Technique tip: A serving platter with a slightly raised lip around the edges will help hold any excess caramel sauce when you flip it out of the skillet.
Swap options: If fresh cranberries aren't available, use frozen. Ripe pears can also be substituted for all or part of the apples.
Sponsored by Better Than Bouillon.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour, for dusting
- 1 (8-to-10-ounce) sheet frozen puff pastry, preferably all-butter, thawed and chilled in refrigerator
- 6 large, crisp, tart apples (such as Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Braeburn or Pink Lady)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
- 1½ cups fresh cranberries
- flaky sea salt, for serving
- vanilla ice cream or crème fraîche, for serving
Preparation
1.Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2.On a lightly dusted work surface, roll out the puff pastry so that it is about 12 inches in diameter, trim the edges to create a rough circle and place into the refrigerator until ready to use.
3.Peel and core the apples, and slice into eighths.
4.In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottom, oven-safe nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
5.Add the sugar, salt, vanilla and orange zest, and stir, allowing the sugar to start to dissolve.
6.Arrange the apple slices over the sugar mixture, fitting as many in as possible (they will reduce after cooking, so it's OK if they crowd and slightly overlap in the pan).
7.Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, occasionally turning the apples around to coat them in the caramel and cook until caramel has thickened slightly and apples have reduced in size, about 20 minutes.
8.Remove from the heat and scatter the cranberries, filling in any spaces between the apples, into the skillet.
9.Gently lay the puff pastry into the pan and, using a spatula, tuck the edges of the dough in and around the fruit and sugar filling.
10.Bake on the middle rack until the puff pastry is puffed high and golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes.
11.Cool for 10 minutes (the pastry will collapse slightly as it cools), then run a knife or thin spatula around the edge to loosen.
12.To flip, top the skillet with a large, rimmed platter and quickly flip over onto the plate.
13.Remove the skillet. If any fruit stays in the pan, take it out and tuck back into the pastry.
14.Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and serve warm with vanilla ice cream or crème fraîche.
