Tangerine Tarte Tatin

My flight back from Alabama was extremely bumpy and nausea-inducing, so I distracted myself with the January issue of Martha Stewart Living, which had a feature about varieties of oranges and other citrus fruits. Her recipes were fine and all, but what I really wanted was pie, so I made this guy up:





Tangerine Tarte Tatin:

6 medium-sized tangerines, sliced
2 tangerines, juiced
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup orange liquor (I used cointreau, but anything would work)
1 cup sugar
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
puff pastry

I boiled the sliced tangerines for about 3 minutes to make the rinds soft, then drained the water off and set them on a paper towel. Then I melted the butter in a skillet, added the sugar, orange liquor, and juice until it started to bubble, then added the sliced tangerines. Cooked all that together until it started to smell extra delicious and a little caramelly. Unfortunately for me, I don't own a tatin pan, so I used a cake tin--arranged the tangerines in the bottom and then poured the juice over them, then covered that with the toasted almonds, and then fitted the puff pastry (cut to the size of the tin) over it. Baked at 425 for 20 minutes. Final step: let cool 10 minutes and then invert onto a plate.

It turned out really really well, although a little sweet. I think using a more tart variety of orange might help with that, and reducing the sugar a tish. I used store-bought puff pastry, 'cause I was being lazy, so there's that.



On the side I made a little bit of whipped cream with almonds--just a regular whipped cream recipe with almond extract added and then toasted slivered almonds folded in after it is whipped. All in all, a success!