It’s officially apple season in the Midwest. Orchards are open for apple picking, I’m seeing lots of apple flavored baked goods around the city, and The Chopping Block is gearing up for Apple Fest! I just celebrated my 10th anniversary as General Manager of The Chopping Block, and while I’d usually be preparing to be in the Apple Fest booth this coming weekend, I just welcomed a new, adorable, addition to our family, so I’m grateful to be soaking up baby snuggles instead.
Apple Fest is three days this year, Friday, October 3rd through Sunday, October 5th, on Lincoln Avenue, between Lawrence and Sunnyside. Friday evening is a new addition, open 3pm-7pm, and is a great way to beat some of the weekend crowds, so be sure to skip out of work a little early! Saturday and Sunday, the festival runs from 9am-6pm.
If you haven’t attended before, Apple Fest, is one of Lincoln Square’s biggest street festivals. You’ll find all things apple, but whatever you do, you can’t miss your slice of The Chopping Block’s Famous Apple Pie! We’re also selling Ellis Farm’s Apple Cider (non-alcoholic), Laird's Brandy Mule and Right Bee Cider Rose and Dry Hard Apple Ciders.
We get so many inquiries about purchasing a whole pie, that we are offering whole pies for pre-sale. You can order and pay for your whole pie in advance and pick it up at the festival. Whole pies are $80 and one whole pie serves 8 people, so you’re actually getting a Lodge 10.25in skillet, valued at $30, for free as all pies come baked in the skillet!
We also get a lot of people asking about learning to make our apple pie, so we’re happily sharing our secrets, and offering our Take and Bake Apple Pie classes again this year on Saturday, and Sunday from 10am-11:30am. Each student will work individually to prepare and assemble their Apple Pie from scratch with our homemade pie dough. All pies will be baked in an indestructible, pre-seasoned 10-inch Lodge cast iron skillet (valued at $30) which is yours to keep and will provide a lifetime of use.
Our chef will guide you through every step of the process, teaching you how to make the perfect filling, how to roll pie dough like a pro, and how to crimp your pie for that professional look. We’ll have the pie dough chilled and ready for you to use, but our chef will demonstrate a batch during class and answer all your questions. While the pies are baking, students will work in groups of four people to prepare a batch of bake-and-take apple fritters drizzled with icing, perfect to nosh on while strolling through Apple Fest. Pies take a total of three hours to bake and cool, so you can explore Apple Fest and come back before 5pm to pick up your homemade pie.
All this talk about apples and planning for Apple Fest had me wanting to get busy in my own kitchen to make something delicious with apples. I’ve shared my fair share of apple recipes over my 10 years at The Chopping Block including Apple Cider Donut Bundt Cake, German Apple Cake, Apple-Bacon-Caramel Croissant Bread Pudding, Apple Upside Down Cake, Apple Pie Eggrolls, Apple Whiskey Bread, Baked Apple Pancake and more. In thinking about all these delicious apple recipes, I realized I’d never made a traditional Tarte Tatin. And if there’s anything I love, it’s upside down desserts!
Tarte Tatin is a classic French upside down pastry that originated, by accident, at Hotel Tatin in the late 1800s. Apples are caramelized in butter and sugar and then topped with puff pastry and baked. After baking the pastry is inverted to reveal the caramelized apples. I love that Tarte Tatin uses very few ingredients, so the apples really get to shine !
Get yourself some apples and try this out for yourself. You’ll want to use apples that are firm and work well for baking such as Honeycrisp or Granny Smith. This Tarte Tatin can be enjoyed as dessert, part of your next brunch, or with your morning coffee. You won’t be disappointed!
Apple Tarte Tatin
Servings: 8
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Inactive time: 10 minutes
Total time: 80 minutes
6-8 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, halved, and cored (depending on size)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
2 teaspoons cinnamon (you can also combine other warming spices such as clove, allspice, nutmeg etc, or omit completely)
1 sheet frozen Puff Pastry (you can make your own, but, with a newborn, I took the easy way out – you can also use pie dough), thawed but cold
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Add butter to a 10-inch skillet.
3. Heat the skillet over medium heat until butter is melted.
4. Add sugar and vanilla and swirl until a caramel forms, about 5-7 minutes (be careful not to burn it!)
5. Place the apple pieces on top in a circular pattern, working from the outside to the inside.
6. Cook on the stove, over medium, covered, until the apples soften, about 15 minutes.
7. Sprinkle cinnamon or other warming spices on top of apples.
8. Roll out your puff pastry. Place on top of apples and tuck in the edges.
9. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
10. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and invert (carefully) onto a plate.
11. Top with vanilla ice cream (or cinnamon ice cream if that's what you have!) , whipped cream, or enjoy on its own.
I hope this Tarte Tatin has gotten you in the mood to embrace all of the apples available this season, and that you’ll consider visiting us at Apple Fest, or for our Take and Bake Apple Pie classes:
- Bake and Take TCB's Famous Apple Pie Saturday, October 4 10am
- Bake and Take TCB's Famous Apple Pie Sunday, October 5 10am
