What is apple tarte tatin

Apple tarte tatin

30 mins to 1 hour

Tarte tatin can be tricky, but it’s delicious when it works. You can substitute the apples for plenty of other fruit; pear and prune or quince work beautifully.

30 mins to 1 hour

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 320g/11oz plain flour
• 225g/8oz ice-cold butter
• 110g/4oz icing sugar
• 3 free-range egg yolks

For the filling

• 6 Cox or 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8-12 wedges
• ¼ lemon
• 110g/4oz caster sugar
• 110g/4oz butter

To serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 250C/500F/Gas 9.

First, make the pastry. In a food processor, mix the flour, butter and icing sugar just until they resemble breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and, using the pulse button, mix until it comes together in a dough.

Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and divide into two pieces. Wrap in clingfilm and put in the freezer to chill for at least an hour.

For the filling, place the apple wedges in a bowl, squeeze the lemon juice over them and toss them gently.

Sprinkle 85g/3oz of the sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan and place on the hob over a medium heat, turning the pan frequently and making sure the sugar doesn’t burn. Allow the sugar to caramelise a little and become a pale golden brown, then remove from the heat and arrange the drained apple pieces in one layer over the bottom of the pan.

Place the pan in the oven and bake until the apples have softened a bit and started to release some liquid — about 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle over the remaining sugar and dot the butter on top. Remove the pastry from the freezer and, using the coarse side of a cheese grater, grate the pastry with long steady strokes over the apples until it forms an even layer at least 2.5cm/1 inch thick. Do not press down. Return to the oven, turn the heat down to 220C/425F/Gas 7 and bake until the pastry is golden brown — about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for a minute or two.

Take a heatproof serving dish that is generously larger than the pan on all sides and place over the pan. Protecting your hands with a dry folded tea-towel, and holding the dish and pan firmly together, quickly and carefully flip the pan and the dish so that the pan is on top. Tap the pan sharply a few times all round with a wooden spoon, then lift off. The tart should be left on the serving dish with the apple on top.

Serve warm with double cream, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.

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Apple Tarte Tatin (Tarte Tatin aux Pommes)

Published: Mar 9, 2021 · Modified: Apr 29, 2021 · Leave a Comment · This post may contain affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn a commission from qualifying purchases

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS

Grab this foolproof apple tarte Tatin recipe to discover how to make an easy and delicious French dessert all year round. It is an upside-down pastry with caramelized apples on top. It is the recipe everyone is talking about!

If you look for an easy and quick apple dessert, do not look any further. This classic apple tarte Tatin (tarte Tatin aux pommes in French) is your answer!

After making tarte Tatin multiple times, I am ready to answer the most burning questions about this French pastry.

What is apple tarte Tatin?

Apple tarte Tatin is a signature French apple upside-down pastry (tarte aux pommes à l’envers in French).

As per The New York Times , apple tarte Tatin is a

simple combination of thick caramelized apple slices resting on a bed of flaky pastry.

According to a legend, it was invented by two Tatin sisters at the end of the 19th century.

They were owners of a provincial French hotel named Hotel Tatin, and ran a restaurant often visited by hunters.

One day, one of the sisters, Stéphanie Tatin, forgot about apples cooking on the stove while making an apple pie.

Feeling the smell of burning and trying to save a situation, she covered the apples with the dough on top and baked the pie anyway.

After turning out the upside-down tart, she was surprised to find how much the hotel guests appreciated the dessert.

The tarte Tatin was born.

The best apples for tarte Tatin

To make the best apple tarte Tatin, apples must hold their shape throughout cooking.

Traditionally, French chefs prefer Reine de Reinette , Reinette Clochard, Reinette Chanteclerc, Belle de Boskoop, apples with the right balance of sweetness and acidity.

Other pastry makers easily use Gala and Golden Delicious; this is what I use to make apple tarte Tatin.

You have to peel and core apples, then slice them in quarters and caramelize.

Gordon Ramsey and Jacques Sailer recommend peeling apples the night before, keeping them uncovered in the refrigerator to allow apples to dry out. This step helps avoid a soggy crust.

How to caramelize apples

Either you agree or not, but as per the prize-winning Mr. Lejarre ,

Caramelization accounts for the charm of the tart. It’s everything.

There are two known ways to caramelize apples for tarte Tatin. Some chefs perform this step on the stovetop.

Others use the two-step method: the caramelization on top of the stove followed the oven caramelization.

In most recipes, butter is cooked with sugar over high heat until the liquid bubbles and caramelized. Then apple slices are added for caramelization.

Tarte Tatin makers look for the right color of caramel. And they go by feel: from light chestnut color to golden brown and even dark brown.

Interestingly, even pastry chefs make mistakes with caramelization. In such a case, French chef Claude Fouquiau from Nouan-Le-Fuzelier does not sell those tarts.

Apple tarte Tatin recipe

I adapted a tarte Tatin recipe created by French chef Christophe Michalak.

The chef makes dry caramel (no water added) that hardens within a few minutes. Please, read more about caramel in the post for Hazelnut Praline.

His approach to apple preparation is completely different from most chefs. He uses a poaching technique.

Instead of frying apples in caramel before baking, Mr. Michalak cooks apple quarters in butter/sugar/water syrup for 10 minutes.

This step makes the apples soft and allows to arrange them in a pan with the cooked caramel as tight as possible.

How to serve apple tarte Tatin

Serve apple tarte Tatin warm with homemade whipped cream, a dollop of crème fraîche, sour cream, sweetened mascarpone, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Why you should try this recipe

1. This puff pastry tarte Tatin is the easiest apple dessert ever. It requires only four ingredients plus a store-bought puff pastry.
2. Using poached apples is one of the best techniques while making classic apple tarte Tatin.
3. This apple dessert is an all-year-round favorite.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for detailed amounts and instructions. I recommend making this recipe as written for the best results.

Sugar: use granulated white or caster sugar .

A pple s: the recipe calls for Golden Delicious apples, but you can replace them with Gala, Braeburn, Boskoop, Canada, Pink Lady, or Reinette if desired.

Butter : use unsalted butter for apple poaching.

Puff pastry : use store-bought or homemade puff pastry or replace it with shortcrust pastry.

How to make apple tarte Tatin

Thaw the puff pastry. Using a rolling pin , roll it out to 5 mm thick. Cut a dough circle using a 9-inch/23 cm pie pan as a template. Prick it with a fork and set it aside.

To make dry caramel, place ⅓ of granulated sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat.

Shake the pan over the stovetop while cooking sugar, but do not use any utensils.

Add another ⅓ of sugar and swirl the saucepan again. Finally, add the remaining sugar (photo 1).

The caramel must get a beautiful color without becoming quite brown. It takes about 3 to 4 min.

Pour the caramel immediately into the bottom of a pie tin 9-inches/23 cm in diameter (photo 2). Put aside for the caramel to harden.

PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2

To poach apples, peel and cut them in quarters. Remove all seeds with a spoon or melon baller (photo 3).

In a large pot, place water, butter, and sugar and bring to a boil. Add apples and cook them for about 10 minutes.

Remove apples when they become translucent (photo 4). Test the apples’ readiness: if the tip of a knife goes in without resistance, apples are ready. Let them cool down.

PHOTO 3 PHOTO 4

Preheat the oven to 355 F/180 C.

Arrange the apple quarters on the bottom of the pie mold, placing them on the edges tightly in concentric circles (photo 5).

Place a circle of puff pastry on top of the poached apples. Slightly press the edges of the pastry against the sides of the mold (photo 6).

PHOTO 5 PHOTO 6

Bake for 45 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Take the tart out of the oven and let it cool down for about 20 to 30 minutes (photos 7-8).

PHOTO 7 PHOTO 8

Then place a serving platter on top of the mold and flip the tart quickly, using a sharp move.

Tarte Tatin is covered with caramelized apples on top, while the puff pastry circle forms a base.

Expert tips

1. Please read the post for Hazelnut Praline about caramel, tips, and trick for making perfect caramel.
2. Also, read the recipe for Quince tarte Tatin about tarte Tatin pan .
3. Poach apples as one batch or divide apples and poach them in two times. Do not overcook apples!
4. Arrange poached apples tightly by pressing them down and against each other.
5. If the tart has cooled down before serving, bring it to the oven at 355 F/180 C for a few minutes to liquefy the caramel. Then flip it over and serve.
6. The calorie count is calculated approximately and does not include the whole amounts of caramel and poaching syrup ingredients.

Frequently asked questions

You can arrange poached apples on top of the solidified caramel, wrap with plastic and keep them in the fridge overnight. The next day, cover apples with puff pastry and bake.

Apple tarte Tatin is best served warm, straight from the oven. You can keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

You can follow me on Instagram , Pinterest, Facebook to see what I am getting up to. Visit my Yummly page and save recipes to your Yummly recipe box.

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Tarte Tatin (French Apple Tart)

Posted on Last updated: September 20, 2021

Home В» Europe В» French Recipes В» Tarte Tatin (French Apple Tart)

Tarte tatin is a classic French apple tart that is both rustic and elegant at the same time. You only need a few ingredients for this delicious fall dessert.

French apple desserts

Apples are a beloved fruit in many places (you can read more here about apples around the world) and France is definitely one of them.

The Normandy region in particular is known for apples and many there are made into cider, one of the key local products.

France also has a number of different apple pies or tarts.

Tarte aux Pommes is probably the most classic, where slices of apple are arranged over a pastry base covered with a layer of frangipane (almond cream). The apples are then glazed with apricot jam.

Tarte Normande has some similarities, but instead the apple slices are set in a custard.

This tart, meanwhile, is baked upside down.

What are the origins of tarte tatin?

The name for this tart comes from the Tatin sisters who ran a hotel in the Sologne region in central France.

The story goes that one of the sisters created this tart while trying to correct a mistake, but it turned into a huge success with guests, many of whom were wealthy Parisian visitors.

However, other reports say the story is merely a myth, and upside-down apple tarts have a much older history, though likely from the same region.

Either way, it is fair to give the sisters credit with popularizing this dish, especially once a famous Parisian critic recommended their tart in the 1920s.

Now, it is beloved around the world.

While in other parts of the world tarte tatin might be served as a dessert in restaurants, that is less the case in France. There other, more composed tarts are more popular in restaurants and patisseries (pastry shops) and this dessert is more of something people would make at home.

Variations in this French apple tart

Despite being only a short number of ingredients, there are a few variations in how this is made. It is essentially just apples, caramel and pastry, but you’ll find variations in both the pastry and how everything is prepared and put together.

As with many homemade favorites, it doesn’t appear that there is one ‘right’ way, just family preferences.

Some preferences, like peeling the apples, have become the norm in modern versions. (Apparently that wasn’t the case in older recipes.)

Most American takes on the tart use puff pastry, but many others use shortcrust pastry or pate brisee (a lighter, more buttery version).

You’ll find slight differences in the caramel as well. Some start with sugar then add butter, others add both together. Some use a little water, but most don’t.

Whether you partially cook the apples in the caramel before adding the pastry also varies.

The recipe below allows for your preference in pastry, but also tries to make the caramel and apple portion the most consistent and simple.

Cooking the apples in the caramel first helps ensure they are nicely tender, plus allows them to shrink slightly before you put the tart together. This helps give a good coverage in the end tart.

What type of apple is best for a tart?

The main thing that is important when choosing an apple for this tart is to use fresh, firm apples, so that they don’t fall apart during cooking.

It is best to use dessert/eating apples rather than a cooking apple, but the exact variety you choose depends a little on taste.

Honeycrisp, Cox, Gala or Braeburn should all work well, with slightly different flavor profiles.

Some recipes also suggest mixing in some Granny Smith to balance out the sweetness a little more, but others suggest they are more likely to become over-soft. (I have yet to test that with this recipe, but they may work in part or full.)

Tarte tatin is such a wonderfully delicious apple tart that makes just a few ingredients into something special. The caramel, apple and pastry combination works so well – no wonder it found fame around the world.

Tarte Tatin (French Apple Tart)

Tarte tatin is a classic French apple tart that is both rustic and elegant at the same time. You only need a few ingredients for this delicious fall dessert.

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