» Recipes

» Desserts » Tarte Tatin

Tarte Tatin
Serves: 8 Author: Chef
Philippe
Time: 1 h 15

Difficulty:

192 ratings
Published on :
28
7 comments
Mar. 2014

Ingredients for 8:
8 to 10 apples
Utensils:
150g unsalted butter
Tarte Tatin Pan for Induction
150g castor sugar
Hobs Ø 24cm
200 g shortcrust pastry
Spatula - Exoglass® - 30cm
Cinnamon powder (optional)

Here is the topsy-turvy history of a legendary tart of caramelized apples that is cooked upside down but served
with the right side up!

Tarte Tatin is named after the Tatin sisters, Caroline and Stéphanie, who ran a hotel-restaurant at the end of the
19th century in Lamotte-Beuvron in Sologne. Conflicting versions state that this irresistible dessert was created
by accident (they dropped the tart on the floor and baked it upside down), by a simple oversight (they left baked
apples in the oven for too long) or was simply an old local speciality made famous by the sisters. Tarte Tatin
was first served in Paris in 1926 at Maxim's restaurant and remains to this day a world-renowned, all-time
French classic dessert.

Method for Tarte Tatin:

1 Before starting this Tarte 2 Peel the apples...
Tatin recipe, make sure you
have organised all the
necessary ingredients.
3 ... cut them in half...
5 In a tarte tatin dish, melt the
butter.
7 Combine gently with an
Exoglass® spatula...
9 Make a brown caramel. Make
sure not to let the caramel
darken too much, as this
would result in a bitter taste.
11 Arrange the apple halves on
the warm caramel. Hold
them vertically for a while...
13 Cook for 10 minutes on high
heat. This method will allow
the apples to absorb the
caramel when it melts and to
pre-cook the apples.
15 ... to a thickness of 3 or
4mm, and give it a round
shape with a slightly larger
diameter than the pan.
17 Gently cover the apples with
the pastry.
4 ... and remove the seeds and
core with a knife.
6 Add the castor sugar into a
thin steam.
8 ... until fully incorporated.
10 Heat the caramel until the
desired colour is obtained.
Remove from the heat.
12 ... making sure they are
arranged in a tight pattern.
Don't forget they will reduce
in size while baking! If you
have some apples left, cut
them in smaller pieces and
arrange them on top. Add
cinnamon (optional).
14 Flour your kitchen worktop.
Roll out the shortcrust
pastry...
16 Here I am using a tart ring
that is slightly bigger (2 or 3
cm on each side) than the
tarte tatin dish.
18 Fold the edges inside the
pan.
19 Gently press on the pastry 20 With the tip of a knife, make a
with your hands to make sure small hole in the centre. This
it sticks to the apples, will allow the steam to come
without creating holes in it. out.

21 Preheat the oven to 180- 22 Cover the pan with a large,

200°C (gas 4-6) and bake deep plate to keep the juice.
until the pastry is completely
cooked. The pastry is ready
when the caramel starts to
leak on the sides. Remove
from the oven.

23 Hold the pan and plate 24 ... then flip with a quick,
together with a hand towel... sharp movement.

25 Take extra precautions, as 26 Lift the hot tarte tatin dish...

you might get burnt with
splashes of boiling caramel!

27 ... and enjoy!

Serve the tart as is, without

custard, crème fraîche or ice
cream. Otherwise, it would
no longer be called a Tarte
Tatin.