Apple Tarte Tatin

I want soft fruit and crispy pastry in my life by any means necessary.

Now that L’Autumn is upon us, it’s time to get yourself to the markets and start scoping out who has the best apples. I live in Georgia which makes buying apples pretty easy which is funny considering we aren’t even in the top tier of apple producing states.

Tarte Tatin is a dish allegedly created on accident by two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin, at their namesake hotel. You can read more about the history on its infallible Wikipedia article but the just is simple: a caramelized open faced apple pie served upside down. But what caught my eye in this is the really caramel sauce. That is the center of this dish and what makes it worth it. Spending time getting the caramel right will pay in excess. I have a deep affection for caramel anything so I knew I was on the right track.

I tried making this a while back but many recipes I came across often omitted pre-cooking the apples of roasting them in separate pans and just creating more steps than is truly necessary. Pre-cooking the apples in the caramel sauce is crucial. It both seasons the apples all over but also give the apples proper time to break down and soften. The last thing you want in a Tarte Tatin or really any baked pastry is al dente fruit.

But I hope you give this a try. It'‘s not as daunting as you may think and the result is so luxurious and enjoyable.

How to make Apple Tarte Tatin

Special Equipment

10” Stainless Steel or Nonstick Pan (oven safe)

Crust

160g unsalted butter, cubed

220g AP Flour

85g filtered water

1 tsp salt

Caramel Sauce

200g cane sugar

1/4 cup water

50g unsalted butter (room temp)

3 whole cloves

5 allspice berries

1/2 tsp grated fresh nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Apples

6-7 medium Apples of good reputation

Nothing with “Delicious” in the name (I used local Honeycrisps) cored and halved, or into thirds if apples are large

Make the Caramel

First, take your spices and grind them if using whole. If not, you can skip this step and use pre-ground but freshly ground spices will take this dish from great to greatgreat!

In a 10” skillet, add sugar and water and swirl to combine. Place over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Watch the heat and continue to cook for 8-10 minutes or until a amber caramel is achieved. Turn off the heat and whisk in butter. It may sputter at you but be chill, keep whisking until it forms a nice smooth sauce. Add spices, salt, vanilla extract, and whisk together.

Cook Apples

Once the caramel sauce is made, place apples in the pan, cut side up and place over medium heat. Cover with a lid or lid-like object and cook for 6-8 minutes, turn the apples over and repeat a few more times. This process is crucial to begin to break down the apples. Do this for 20-25 minutes and you will see the apples start to break down and release their juices. Cook off liquid for another 5 minutes and then turn off the heat. Place the apples cut side up as close together as you can. Just make sure an inch around the sides is clear to place the pastry.

Don’t be worried if the apples don’t all fit. As they cook the will smush together and become snug with each other. It’s better to start with more than you think and remove if needed.

Roll out puff pastry and assemble

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

*You can skip this step and use store bought puff pastry if you want*

Follow my recipe for rough puff pastry in my galette dough post. You’ll want to do this the day ahead. But instead of dividing in half, keep the dough whole in one large disk.

Roll out pastry to 1/4 inch thick, cut out a large 11” circle and drape over the apple-filled skillet, tucking in the sides around the inner edge of the skillet. With a small knife, poke several little slashes in the top of the dough to allow steam to escape. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown all over.

Using oven mitts or a towel, remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Being mindful that the handle of the skillet will still be HOT, invert the Tarte Tatin onto a large plate or serving platter (be brave). It should cleanly release. Allow to cool a little longer but ideally Tarte Tatin should be served warm and with ice cream…

Enjoy!