I woke up with a craving for apples and a spicy caramel sauce on flaky pastry--so that's what I made this morning!
Use any pate brisée you normally use. I experimented with a new one that called for an egg instead of ice water, and a little whole wheat flour; it turned out to be on the crumbly side of flaky, which was not quite what i was going for.
The amounts called for are for a six-inch springform tart pan, though there will be enough pastry crust for a nine-inch pan. For a nine-inch pan, I would guess 5 apples, and caramel made out of 5 tbsp sugar.
Caramel Apple Tart
1 recipe pate brisée or other all-butter pie crust (make sure to refrigerate for at least half an hour and then let sit for ten minutes before rolling out)
3 to 4 apples (Honeycrisp worked well; another red cooking apple would be fine)
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
Three good shakes cinnamon
1 pinch ground allspice
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
Cut the apples in quarters. Cut out the core, but don't peel the apples: the red peel is pretty. Slice the apples thinly as you can. Keep the sliced quarters together--it will be easier to arrange them in the crust. Depending on the size of your apples, it should take between 3 and 4 apples to fill the crust.
Roll out the crust, and put it into the springform pan, patching any holes that appear (they won't show). Make sure the dough extends up past the edges of the pan, then use a knife to level the edges. Arrange a tightly-packed circle of apples around the edge of the crust, then fill in the center.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small saucepan, melt the 3 tbsp brown sugar, ginger, and spices with 1 tbsp water over medium-low heat. Do not stir, but swish the pan around from time to time to make sure it is heated evenly. Just when bubbles form throughout, take the pan off the heat and stir in the butter and salt. Pour over the tart. It should look like this:
Bake until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender, 40-60 minutes. Let cool at least a bit before serving.
Serves 4-6.
