Tarte Tatin....

This is a really easy dessert to make with very little ingredients, butter, apples and sugar. The intricate part comes when cooking the apples down with the butter and sugar trying to achieve that golden caramel flavor. If you don't caramelize it enough all the sauce is going to pour out when you invert it onto a plate at the end and if you cook it too long, the caramel will become burnt and the apples will probably stick to the pan. But don't let me scare you away from making this amazing tart because even if you did achieve any of the latter it's still going to taste good. You could even chop up the whole tart and mix it through some vanilla ice cream as a last resort. I made the base with a french style dough, pate brisee which ends up like a very flaky shortbread but you could also use store bought puff pastry. The end result will just provide a slightly chewy texture when devouring your slice or slices.

Here's the recipe courtesy of Thomas Keller's Bouchon:

Pate Brisee,
1 Cup AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 Ounces cold unsalted butter chopped up
2 Tbsp cold water

Put 1/2 cup of the flour and the salt into a mixer and mix with the butter until coarse. Add the other 1/2 cup and combine. Add the water until all is mixed and comes together. Pat out to a flat disc and chill for about 30 minutes.

Tarte Tatin,
9-10 Golden delicious apples
3/4 Cup sugar
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Use a heavy ovenproof skillet 9 inches across and at least 2 inches deep. Preheat the oven to 375. Peel the apples and core them. Cut the apples in half. Spread the sugar in an even layer in the skillet. dot the butter on top of the sugar and then lay the apples round side down on top of the butter/sugar mix. Shingle the apple slices to make sure its packed tight, as they cook down they will shrink slightly.
Place the pan over a medium heat to melt the butter and sugar. The liquid will come out of the apples and mix with the butter and sugar. This will increase the content to the top of the pan but after a while it will reduce.
This step may take up to 1 hour to caramelize the sugar and brown the tops of the apples so be patient. Watch it carefully as the bubbles seem to move slower and watch for a golden caramel color, Once you have reached this point set the pan away from the heat and roll out your dough to a little larger than the pie dish. Top the apples with the dough and tuck in any excess at the edges. Put the pie into the oven and bake for about 40 minutes.
After the pie is done leave it to rest for another 30 minutes. Have a dish or plate with a lip and lay it on top of the pie. Quickly invert the tart onto the dish and gently lift off the pan leaving behind the tart and those golden caramelised apples. If any stick to the tart pan don't worry, scrape them off with a knife and set them back into the spot where they came from on the tart. Serve warm with creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.