Who can resist tarte tatin?

The most characteristic feature of this apple pie is its method of preparation, the caramelized apples are first put in and then covered with the dough.

Once the cake is baked, is popped out of its mold upside down, leaving the caramelized apples on top of the crunchy base. This tart is baked upside down but eaten right side up!

Tarte Tatin History

Popular legend has it that this dessert was created by accident in the 19th century by the Tatin sisters, Caroline and Stéphanie, two women who ran a small hotel in Lamotte-Beuvronen, France.

Stéphanie Tatin’s oversight was to forget to add the dough in when she was making an apple tart. So she decided to put the dough on top of the apples and then, once cooked, she carefully turned the tart over. This is how this delicacy, so well known in French cuisine and throughout the world, was born.

Another version indicates that this type of inverted pastry was a specialty in La Sologne, at least since 1790, a time when the upside-down tart was already among the basic recipes of pastry chefs.

Tart Tatin´s recipe arrived to Paris in 1926 and was first prepared and served at Maxim’s restaurant. Since then it has become a classic in French restaurants.

How to Make Tarte Tatin

The most famous tart in French gastronomy is made of flour, butter, sugar and Golden Delicious apples.

There is a quick way to make this tart, which is with puff pastry. However, we are going to make it with shortcrust pastry, which is the traditional way. Plus, this pie has a fuller flavor by mixing the softness of the juicy, caramelized apple with the sandy shortcrust pastry.

Shortcrust Pastry

1. Dump 2 cups of flour onto your work surface. Make a well in your piled-up flour, it looks like a nest or a volcano, and add in one egg, ½ cup of diced butter and 6½ tablespoons of sugar. The butter must be at room temperature, otherwise put it half a minute in the microwave.

2. Start stirring with a fork to integrate the egg with the rest of ingredients. Then, knead the flour with your hands.

3. Pat the dough together into a ball.

4. Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Caramel

5. In a frying pan, add 10 tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of water over medium heat (level 5 on glass ceramic). When the wet sugar starts to boil, place 1¾ tablespoon of diced butter into the boiling. Keep in mind not to stir with a metal nor wooden spoon.

6. When the butter melts, distribute it evenly tilting the pan gently on both sides.

7. Let the sugar boil for a few minutes over medium heat and then turn up to high heat (level 9). The caramel starts to brown.

8. Pour the caramel into a 8-inch round cake pan. Set aside.

Tart Filling

9. Peel the apples, remove the cores and cut them in half.

10. Put the apple slices in a large frying pan, without turning on the fire yet.

11. Add in 7 tablespoons of sugar and ½ cup of diced butter over the apples.

12. Put over medium high heat (level 6 on glass ceramic) with the lid on for 10 minutes. We want the apples to soften while sugar and butter melt.

Assembly

13. When filling the cake pan, arrange the apples upright in a circle around the outside, slightly overlapping the slices. Then, use the leftover and less beautiful pieces of apple to fill the middle.

14. Take the shortcrust pastry out of the refrigerator and roll it out to a thickness of 0.8 inches and give it a round shape with a slightly larger diameter than the pan.

15. Place the dough on top of the pan and cut the edges with the rolling pin.

16. Turn on the oven to 356ºF (180ºC) and bake for 35 minutes, or when the shortcrust pastry is golden brown.

17. Remove the tart from the oven and let it cool down for 20 minutes.

18. Then, turn the tart upside down on a plate … Et voilà! You have just made the most famous tart of French gastronomy!

I like to eat it warm, with cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

If you like apple pie recipes, you can also try our recipes for puff pastry apple tart or apple crumble.