Tart Tatin with Cranberries and Maple Syrup

The first time I had Tart Tatin, was at dinner with Bob and Denis, 20 odd years ago.  Bob, who had just returned from a year long sabbatical in France, made a classic Tart Tatin and I loved it.  Bob told me the story about how Tart Tatin was named after the Tatin sisters, who while caramelizing some apples in a frying pan left them unattended, resulting in overdone apples.  Needing to have a desert to serve for lunch at the family restaurant, they rescued the apples by putting a pastry lid on the frying pan and baked it in the oven. The sisters turned the pan upside down onto a plate, and we now enjoy this classic.  I have taken a few liberties and I am guessing that considering the tart's accidental origin, it is perfectly fine to experiment with the recipe.

Tart Tatin with Maple Syrup and Cranberries

I have a number of maple trees in the country and every year make enough maple syrup for my friends and family.  It also means I can use maple syrup instead of sugar.  Maple syrup is fabulous with apples, and, cranberries add a counter balance to the sweetness of the maple syrup.  I like to use a short crust for the pastry on top, but have been known to use frozen puff pastry in a pinch.

• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 1/4 cup of fresh cranberries
• 3 crisp apples, such as cortland or graney smith, peeled, quartered and cored, then each quarter sectioned into thirds
• pastry (see pastry recipe for lemon tart) or use frozen puff pastry

In a cast iron frying pan, melt butter and maple syrup.  Add cranberries and cook until the berries begin to pop.  Arrange the sliced apples and cook on stove top until the apples begin to caramelize.  Cover with pastry, trim and bake in oven at 425F until golden.  Take out of oven, and flip onto plate before cool.  

 Whipped cream or ice cream complete the desert.  

My Family's Favourite Apple Pie

Growing up, it was my responsibility to make the apple pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.  I have a vague recollection of this pie evolving from something my father's mother would make for us.  My grandmother was French Canadian, but lived in Kitchener when I was growing up.  I remember visiting her in the summer for a week at a time and travelling up and down country roads to visit different Mennonite farms, buying apples from one farm, a chicken from another, butter and eggs from from somewhere else.  It was on one of these summer visits that we made a version of this apple pie together.  The pie has evolved over the years, and is now less sweet.  

My siblings still expect me to make this apple pie for family events, to the point that when my daughter and I were out of town for Christmas last year, I think my family seemed to miss the pie, or at least the topping more than us.  

My Family's Favorite Apple Pie

Pastry for a Single Crust

• 11/4 cups of pastry flour
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1/2 cup of cold unsalted butter
• 1tablespoon of lemon juice 
• 3 tablespoons of cold water

Sift flour and sugar into a bowl, cut butter into small squares and cool again in the fridge.  Add to flour and cut into flour.   Mix lemon juice and water together.  Sprinkle half of water over over flour mixture and gently mix with fork, continue to add fluid until the the mixture holds together.  Do not over work. Form into ball and wrap with plastic.  Let rest in refrigerator for at least a half hour.  Roll out and fit into 9 inch glass pie plate.  

Apple Filling

• 6-8 cooking apples, I like Spy or Cortland
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg

Peel apples and cut into large chunks and place in bowl.  Mix with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Some people add sugar, I prefer the pie to be a bit tart as a counterbalance to the sweetness of the topping. Arrange apples in pie plate fitting as snugly as possible to minimize settling.  

Topping

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup flour

Mix dry ingredients together in bowl.  Cut butter into small pieces and work into dry ingredients with fingers. Handle  as little as possible.  Gently pat chunks of the mixture into flattish pieces, that are not too perfect and place on top of pie, gradually covering the top of the pie. 

Place pie in 375 degree preheated oven and then turn oven down to 350 and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and let cool. top should be crisp and apples should not be mushy.    

Port Rhubarb and Apple Crisp

 Rhubarb was the first plant in my garden that could be picked this year.  Last weekend as part of our goodbye winter dinner, we made a rhubarb and apple crisp using an open bottle of port, that had probably been in the fridge a little too long, to supplement the sweetener.  At dinner we had a conversation about whether it was a  crisp, crumble or a cobbler, and eventually decided on 'crisp' because the topping did not use flour as you would in a pastry,  but rather, was coarser with an oat base and not crumby. After doing some research, I think we weren't too far off the mark.  I liked Canadian Living's approach which suggests that it really doesn't matter, call it whatever you like, however I found a more precise explanation on OChef that I also found useful.

The desert was a success, with the help of a generous scoop of Mad River Co, Madagascar Vanilla Ice Cream.  I think this is the best vanilla ice cream ever. The only place that I know of, that I can buy it, and only sporadically, is at the 100 Mile Store in Creemore.

Port Rhubarb and Apple Crisp

serves 4
heat oven to 350F

• 4 stocks of rhubarb, cut into 1" pieces
• 2 apples cut into bite some chunks
• 1/4 cup of port
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

topping

• 1 cup of oats
• 1/4 up of butter
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Mix the rhubarb, apples, sugar and spices, and port together in a bowl, and put in small loaf pan or serving sized containers that can go in the oven.  Prepare the topping, next.  Mix the sugar and cinnamon with the oats.  Cut in the butter, and press into flat pieces and cover the fruit.  Bake at 350F for 20 minutes for individual portions, or 30 minutes for larger pan, or until juices are bubbling.  Serve warm with ice cream.