Plum Tarte Tatin with Creme Fraiche

Friday night dessert: Another creation from Suzanne Goin, Plum Tarte Tatin. I did not improvise on this and worked straight from her recipe with a couple of unintentional deviations.

In looking around the internet, I saw that some people had trouble with this dessert. Maybe it was beginner's luck, but I found this very simple. I also think that the plums were just right for this recipe. They were ripe but still firm enough to keep their shape.

Since I have linked the recipe, I won't go into every single detail. Most of the work was halving and pitting 3 pounds of plums. After adding sugar (1/4 c) and letting them sit for 30 minutes, it was time to make the caramel coating. Kate has a great big cast iron skillet which was perfect for making the tarte. Heated the pan over medium heat and added 1 stick of butter. When it foamed, I added 3/4 cup sugar and cooked for 6 minutes until it was a brown caramel color.

While it cooled, I drained the plums. I think that this step is critical, because too much juice result in a pretty soggy tarte. Goin suggests making a cocktail from the sugared-plum juice, but I am not imaginative to think what would go well with it. I am open to suggestions.

When the caramel had cooled for about 20 minutes, I placed the plums, skin side up in the skillet, in lovely, concentric circles.

I put the skillet in the fridge here and missed the step of cooking the plums and caramel on the stove. After refrigerating for a couple hours, I realized my mistake and put the skillet on the stove, cooking the plums--without touching--for 20 minutes over medium-low heat. Then, after cooling the plums and caramel again for about an hour or so, I topped it with store-bought puff pastery (sorry purests, but I like pepperidge farm for this). Brushed with beaten egg (from GFF, of course) and sprinkled with sugar. Baked at 375 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes.

After cooling for 30 minutes, it was time to flip the tarte. This is time when it is nice to have someone strong around, since flipping a cast iron skillet with plate on it is a little challenging. Cutting around the edges helps, but flipping it in one motion seems to be important too. Then, letting it just drop out of the skillet from its own weight.

Served with creme fraiche on the side, we ate this all up and left none for Don who arrived late from DC on Friday night.