Recipe
Tarte tatin
The upside-down apple tart born of a happy accident at the Hôtel Tatin - apples cooked in dry caramel under a lid of puff pastry, then flipped while hot. Serve warm, ideally with cream.
Tarte tatin takes about 85 minutes and makes 6 servings. Each serving has 455 kcal.
- Preparation
- 30 minutes
- Cooking
- 55 minutes
- Total time
- 85 minutes
- Servings
- 6
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 455 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- 56 g
- Fat
- 24 g
Ingredients
- Apples6 pcs
- Sugar150 g
- Butter80 g
- Puff pastry1 pc
- Salt1 pinch
Instructions
- 1
Peel, halve and core the apples; leave the halves whole so they hold their shape through the long bake.
- 2
Roll out the puff pastry and cut a circle 2 cm wider than your 24 cm ovenproof pan; prick it with a fork and chill it.
- 3
Make a dry caramel: scatter the sugar evenly over the pan and melt it over medium heat without stirring - only swirl the pan - until it turns deep amber.
Tip: Stirring is what makes caramel crystallize into grainy clumps - hands off the spoon. Swirl the pan to even out the color, and pull it at the color of an old copper coin; it darkens further in the oven.
- 4
Off the heat, add the butter and a pinch of salt, swirling until glossy - careful, it will bubble and spit.
- 5
Arrange the apple halves upright on their edges in tight concentric circles in the caramel - pack them snugly, they shrink as they cook.
- 6
Return the pan to medium heat for 10 minutes, so the apples begin to soften and release their juices into the caramel.
- 7
Drape the chilled pastry over the apples and tuck the edges down inside the pan with a spoon.
- 8
Bake at 190 °C for 30–35 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and deep golden brown.
- 9
Rest for exactly 5 minutes, then set a plate over the pan and flip the tart in one quick, confident motion - while it is still hot.
Tip: Flip while hot, or the caramel sets and glues the apples to the pan. Oven gloves on, plate pressed tight against the pan, one decisive turn - hesitation is what causes accidents.
Cooking methods
On the stove
The caramel wants steady medium heat in a heavy ovenproof pan - cast iron or stainless steel, never non-stick with a plastic handle. On gas, watch the edges: they caramelize first, so swirl to even it out before the center catches up.
On induction
Melt the sugar on level 5 of 9 - induction heats the pan floor very evenly, which makes dry caramel easier than on gas. Once amber, lift the pan off the zone immediately; residual heat keeps cooking the sugar.
Over an open fire
Honestly not the place for a tatin - dry caramel needs even, controllable heat and the flip is risky at a fire pit. If you are determined, make the caramel and apples over embers in a cast-iron pan, then bake under a lid piled with coals, checking often.
Recipe questions
- How long does this recipe take?
- Plan for about 85 minutes from start to finish.
- How many servings does this recipe make?
- This recipe makes 6 servings.
- Can I cook this recipe on induction?
- Yes. Melt the sugar on level 5 of 9 - induction heats the pan floor very evenly, which makes dry caramel easier than on gas. Once amber, lift the pan off the zone immediately; residual heat keeps cooking the sugar.
- Can I cook this recipe over an open fire?
- Yes. Honestly not the place for a tatin - dry caramel needs even, controllable heat and the flip is risky at a fire pit. If you are determined, make the caramel and apples over embers in a cast-iron pan, then bake under a lid piled with coals, checking often.
- Which dietary preferences does this recipe support?
- This recipe is tagged: vegetarian.
In the app
Cooking the way it should feel
One step on screen, a timer that keeps going, and clear progress until the dish is done.
