For such a simple recipe, there’s nothing quite like the unveiling of a beautifully bronzed Tarte Tatin. Rustic yet elegant, the plump, slightly flattened apples just ooze French farmhouse charm and beg to be eaten with a great dollop of thick crème fraiche.
Baked with the pastry on top, and then inverted onto a plate, the ‘upside down’ tart is named after two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin who ran a hotel in the Loire Valley during the late 1800s, and like so many food legends, the story revolves around an amusing mistake made in the kitchen. Hotel Terminus Tatin was a small inn popular with hunters and travellers, and the sisters did much of the cooking themselves. Apparently one day an apple tart was being prepared, and one of the sisters (some say Stephanie and others say Caroline) accidently tipped the apple filling into a pastry-less pie dish. Not wanting to start again, she rolled a circle of pastry and put it on top. Apparently the guests loved it and the famous Tarte Tatin was born. Now many French women will say that similar tarts were being baked in this way for many years before this incident, but the tart did not reach prominence until the famous restaurateur Louis Vaudable tasted it at Hotel Tatin and made it a dessert at his restaurant Maxim's of Paris.
Hotel Tatin still stands in Lamotte-Beuvron and chef Gilles Caille bakes up to 10 tarts each day in the old gas oven. Ideally, he uses France’s famous cooking apple, the Reine des Reinette (King of Pippins) but substitutes them with Golden Delicious when out of season. The recipe below also suggests Granny Smiths for their firm and acidic qualities, and other fruits can and are often used these days such as pear, quince and even tomato (see ‘Variations’). Another diversion from the original Tarte Tatin is the used of ready-rolled puff pastry over home-made shortcrust. Either can be opted for, but the butter puff is more commonly used in France today and offsets the dense sweetness of the apples beautifully.
The recipe serves 4 generously.
Ingredients for Apple Tarte Tatin
- 5 x Reine des reinettes (King of Pippins) OR Granny Smith OR Golden Delicious apples
- 100g raw caster sugar plus 2 tbs extra for scattering
- 60g unsalted butter
- 1x sheet of quality puff pastry such as Carême, defrosted
To serve:
- Double cream or crème fraiche
Special Equipment
- 1 x a tin-lined copper Tarte Tatin dish OR an 18-22cm stove proof, heavy based pan. Note: In the absence of either of these, it is possible to prepare the caramel is a saucepan then tip it into a pie dish and proceed as normal from there.
Method for Making Tarte Tatin
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F
- Peel, halve and core the apples, then cut into thick slices.
- Make the caramel by placing the Tarte Tatin dish over medium heat and melting the butter, then adding 100g of sugar and letting it bubble until it turns a dark golden colour. Remember that it will continue to darken once the heat is turned off, so if it looks like it is about to burn, throwing in a handful of apple slices will quickly reduce the temperature. The apple can easily be rearranged into place with a fork.
- Arrange the sliced apple in a rosette pattern, being careful not to get burnt by the hot caramel.
- Bake without the pastry in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then remove and set aside for a moment.
- Roll out the pastry to 5mm (1/5 inch) and cut a circular lid to fit the Tarte Tatin tin. Lay over the hot apple mixture and tuck in gently around the edge to seal.
- Return to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is golden and fully risen.
- Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate.
To Serve Tarte Tatin
Tarte Tatin is best served lukewarm. Place a jug of double cream or crème fraiche on the table for guests to spoon onto the side, and enjoy.
Variations
Pear Tarte Tatin is also very popular in France and can be made by following the recipe above but substituting pears for apples.
For a delicious Banana Tarte Tatin, skip the pre-baking after adding the bananas and just bake once for 20-25 minutes with the pastry on top. Serve with double cream and a grating of fresh nutmeg.
Quince Tarte Tatin is a beautiful variation, but the firmness of the quinces requires poaching them in water with a squeeze of lemon for 45 minutes before proceeding with the recipe as normal.
Tomato Tarte Tatin is a lovely savoury dish and makes a tasty lunch of starter.
Looking for other traditional French desserts? Why note try Individual Crème Caramels or a luscious Crème Brûlée.
Colette Haydon John - Colette Haydon John graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Major in Creative Writing, and holds a Graduate Diploma in Education ...
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