COOK'S CORNER TARTE TATIN TREAT WORTH THE TROUBLE.

Byline: Marge Powers

Rose Engel of Sherman Oaks loves the apple tarte tatin dessert at Cafe Bizou on Ventura Boulevard and has been searching for a comparable recipe with no luck.

Today Ruth Nebron is sharing a Tarte Tatin recipe which came from the epicurious food Web site. Tarte Tatin is labor intensive, but is worth the effort if you're a fan. Serve warm with plenty of creme fraiche, sour cream or vanilla ice cream.

TARTE TATIN

SOUR CREAM PASTRY:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

6 tablespoons chilled dairy sour cream

APPLE FILLING:

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

11 medium-size Pippin apples (about 4 3/4 pounds), peeled, quartered and cored

1 egg, beaten to blend (glaze)

TOPPING:

Creme fraiche OR dairy sour cream

For Sour Cream Pastry, blend flour, sugar and salt in the large bowl of a heavy-duty mixer with a whisk attachment. Add butter and beat at medium-low speed until butter is size of small lima beans, about 3 minutes. Add sour cream and beat until moist clumps form, about 1 minute.

Gather dough into a smooth ball. Flatten into a 6-inch diameter disk. Wrap dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated. Let soften slightly before rolling out.)

For Apple Filling, spread butter over bottom of a 12-inch diameter ovenproof nonstick skillet with sloping sides. Skillet should be at least 1 3/4 inches deep.

Reserve 2 tablespoons sugar; sprinkle remaining sugar over butter.

Place skillet over medium-low heat and cook until butter melts, sugar begins to dissolve and mixture starts to bubble, about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat. Arrange apples on their sides around edge of skillet, placing tightly together. Arrange as many of remaining apples as will fit, pointed ends up, in 2 circles in center of skillet. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

Set skillet over medium-high heat. Boil until a thick peanut butter-color syrup forms, repositioning skillet often for even cooking and adding remaining apples as space permits, about 45 minutes (syrup will continue to darken during baking.)

Remove from heat. Wrap handle several times with heavy-duty foil.

Roll out pastry on a floured surface to a 12-inch round. Place over apples. Cut 4 (2-inch) slits in top of pastry. Press pastry down around apples at edge of skillet. Brush pastry with some of egg glaze.

Bake on center rack in preheated 425-degree oven about 30 minutes, until pastry is a deep golden brown. Transfer to a work surface. Cool 1 minute.

Cut around edge of skillet to loosen pastry. Place a large platter over skillet. Using oven mitts, hold skillet and platter together tightly and invert, allowing tart to fall onto platter. Carefully lift off skillet. Rearrange any apples that may have become dislodged. Cool tart 30 minutes.

Cut warm tart into wedges to serve. Serve topped with creme fraiche. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Can you help

If you have recipes that can help this reader, please send them along to us at the address below to share in a future column.

--I am looking for a recipe similar to the sweet and sour cabbage soup served at the Big Apple Deli in the Northridge mall. It is the best soup I have ever had. Help.

-A Valley reader