What is Tarte Tatin, and How You Can Make This French-Style Apple Pie At Home: French Dessert Names You Should Know

Tarte Tatin is a quintessential French dessert that is the stuff of dreams. It has caramelized apples that are nestled over a super buttery crust. It's basically the haute couture wearing French cousin of the humble apple pie because like most French desserts, it's a symbol of culinary excellence, precision, and ingenuity. This is why this special sweet so popular even outside of France.

Origin Story

There's a popular origin story associated with this dish. It's said that two sisters, Stephanie and Caroline Tatin, who ran a hotel in the town of Lamotte-Beuvron in the late 19th century created this dish by pure accident. One day, the sisters were busy preparing their signature apple pie in the kitchen, but Stephanie left the apples cooking in butter and sugar for longer than planned. To save the apples and salvage the dessert, she decided to place pastry dough over them and bake them upside down. She served this new creation to her guests, who happened to love how it tasted.

Popularity in France and Beyond

Like we said, there's a reason why Tarte Tatin is a classic French dessert that you can find in humble bistros but also Michelin-starred restaurants. It's such a simple creation - tender apples caramelized with sugar and their own juices, then encased in a buttery shortcrust or puff pastry. You can also make it with other fruits like pears, bananas, quinces, peaches, and pineapple.

Making Tarte Tatin at Home

You don't need to have advanced pastry and baking skills to be able to master the Tarte Tatin. There are some steps that are crucial and you need to be mindful of, like selecting the right apples that give a balance of sweetness and acidity, and are firm, so they won't disintegrate during the long cooking process. Some of the apple types that are usually used are Grannysmith, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, and Fuji apples. If you’re unable to find any of these, then you make the best out of what is available. Measure all ingredients precisely because baking is a science. Making the shortcrust pastry is also not hard but you need to be cognisant of the temperature of the ingredients you're using, and you definitely need to practice patience in case your attempt is not the ideal recreation of the recipe you follow. Else, just use store bought puff pastry and cut down on the extra hours of hard work!

Recipe for Tarte Tatin

Ingredients:

• 300 gm puff pastry
• 6 apples (should weigh around 900 g together)
• 100 gm golden caster sugar
• 85 gm unsalted butter, divided into 60 g and 25 g
• Vanilla ice cream, to serve

Instructions:

• Roll the pastry out until it's about 3 mm thick, then cut it into a circle using a plate that’s about 10.5 inches in diameter.
• Prick it lightly with a fork, place over a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate.
• Then preheat your oven to 180°C and peel, core, and chop the apples into quarters.
• Add all of the sugar in a heat proof baking dish or a cast iron skillet and let it melt and turn a light amber color.
• When it’s about to smoke a little, take it off heat and add 60 gm of chilled and cubed butter. This will stop the caramel from cooking further because its temperature will decrease.
• Arrange the apple quarters very tightly together over the caramel layer, so there are no visible open spaces.
• Brush the fruit with about 25 gm of melted, unsalted butter.
• Bake the apples and caramel in the oven for 30 minutes.
• Then take the pan out of the oven and cover with the prepared puff pastry circle. Tuck the sides of the pastry on the inside of the dish.
• After this, prick holes into the pastry with a knife so that the steam can escape when you bake it.
• Bake the entire dish for 40 to 45 minutes or until the puff pastry has puffed up and is golden brown in color.
• Handle the pan carefully as you remove it from the oven, then let it come down to room temperature.

Run a sharp knife around the pastry, then invert it onto a serving dish. Serve the slices of Tarte Tatin with some high quality vanilla ice cream.