I subscribe to the method which calls for baking the apples the day before and letting them cool in the skillet overnight, allowing the sugar syrup to cool and bind to the apples.

I've found that the flakiest pastry is a blend of both butter (for flavor), and Crisco shortening (for texture). I prefer making pastry by hand the old-fashioned way. The blade of a food processor seems to cut too fast, making the pastry too tough for my taste.

A non-stick, heavy cast-iron skillet will allow you to easily unmold the tarte tatin.

Place skillet in oven and let cook for 1 ½ hours. Remove skillet from oven and let cool to room temperature. Cover skillet with foil and refrigerate overnight.

To make the pastry, combine flour, cake flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and stir to mix. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter and Crisco into small pea size bits. Mix in enough ice water with a fork until the pastry comes together. Form pastry into a ball and cover completely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate pastry for at least one hour before using.

To complete the Tarte Tatin, heat oven to 350°. Take the the skillet and the pastry from the refrigerator. Roll out the pastry to 1/8" thickness. Gently place the pastry over the apples in the skillet. Trim edge of pastry so that about ½" overhangs skillet. Press in edges of pastry to inside of skillet.

Bake skillet in oven just until pastry is golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

To unmold the Tarte Tatin, place a plate over the top of skillet and carefully turn over the skillet. The Tarte Tatin should easily invert onto the plate. Cut into wedges and serve warm with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.