The Best Classic French Apple Tarte Tatin Recipe | The Pure Taste (2024)

FAQs

What fruit is traditionally used in tarte tatin? ›

Originally, the tarte Tatin was made with two regional apple varieties: Reine des Reinettes (Pippins) and Calville. Over the years, other varieties have tended to displace them, including Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji and Gala.

Named after the woman who invented it, the Tarte Tatin (tart tah-TAN) is a famous French "upside-down" caramelized apple tart or Tarte aux pommes (caramélisé). Basically, the apples are underneath the dough – topsy-turvy indeed.

"Sometimes, I like to flash it back in the oven for a minute or use a blowtorch to take the pan off. I find either of these methods helps the tarte keep its shape, and the cooling rack helps keep the tatin from getting soggy."

Cast iron, enameled cast iron, or a special tarte tatin mold, available at many kitchenware shops, are best. In any case, it should be heavy-bottomed, with a handle that can withstand the heat of the oven.

If you don't have a local market, in the U.S., Braeburn, Granny Smith, Jonagold, and Winesap are flavorful apples that are good for baking. The tart is called “Normande” because it uses heavy cream and Calvados, two staples of the hearty cuisine of Normandy.

Whereas pies and tarts are baked in a mould or dish, galettes are freeform; laid on a flat sheet, its edges are turned up and folded inward by hand, producing a rustic appeal and a distinct shape—while tarts and pies have crusts that are wither straight or widen at the mouth, the mouths of galettes are smaller than its ...

For best results, cook a day or two ahead and keep in its pan or dish in the fridge, then reheat in the oven for 20 mins at 150C/130C fan/gas 2 an hour before serving. Turn out to serve as above.

If serving immediately: let cool for 15 min, place a plate over the pan, and quickly flip the pan over. If serving later, reheat the pan to loosen up the caramel (the apples can get stuck if the pan if the caramel has thickened too much) before flipping. Serve with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

: a caramelized apple tart that is baked with pastry on top and then inverted for serving.

Let the mix cook on a medium heat checking the color as it cooks. When the mix becomes brown and thick (not dark brown) remove the pan from the heat. Watch closely because if caramel burns will become bitter.

When to flip a tarte Tatin? ›

Remove from the oven and cool until pan is still slightly warm but cool enough to touch, 1 to 2 hours (don't let the pan fully cool, as that could cause the caramel to thicken such that the tarte Tatin won't release when flipped). Cover the pan with a large dinner plate or platter, then carefully and quickly flip.

Keep cooking until the juices are turning darker brown and smell caramelized, no longer than 10 minutes more. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake 45 to 50 minutes, until puff pastry is browned and firm. Let cool 5 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a round serving plate.

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Choose a pan whose shape comes close to that of a tart Tatin pan. Cast iron, stainless steel, or an oven safe ceramic coated nonstick skillet are all candidates too. The pan needs to go from stove to oven. I prefer to unmold tarte Tatin close to serving time.

The Pan. I use a 10-inch (26cm) All-Clad, stainless steel fry pan (skillet) as an example. It heats evenly and can be popped into the oven. Any stainless steel fry pan works, just make sure the handle is ovenproof.

Legend has it that the tart appeared at the end of the 19th century. Two sisters ran a hotel and restaurant in Lamotte-Beuvron, Caroline Tatin, who took care of the reception while Stéphanie Tatin, did the cooking. Her specialty was apple pie, served at the same caramelized and meltingly soft.

Tarte Tatin is a French dessert for which apples are caramelized in a skillet with butter and sugar, then topped with a round of pastry dough and baked. After baking the tarte, you invert the skillet to serve it.

According to legend, the tart was invented by the unmarried French sisters who ran the hotel in the 1880s, so in France, the actual name of the tart is "Tarte des Demoiselles Tatin" (the tart of two unmarried women named Tatin.)

Other apple varieties that lean towards the tart side are: Pink Lady® apples, Braeburn apples, McIntosh appes, Jonathan apples, Empire apples, and Cortland apples.