The best in test recipe for the French classic Tarte Tatin

Level: Intermediate
Total TIme: 2h 30 min

The Tarte Tatin has been my favorite tart ever since I arrived in France. This rustic, traditional tart with a mixture of soft, caramelized apples on a crispy tart dough served warm with a thick Crème Fraiche is just divine! I had my first taste of Tarte Tatin at my mother-in-law’s and her recipe is unbeatable. I have had this tart in numerous restaurants and tried several recipes myself, but I have never found any that came anywhere near her version. So in order to share with you the best of the best, I went to spend a tart making day with my mother in law to learn from the expert 🙂 And the result was as always just heavenly…

Usually, this traditional tart is made with puff pastry, but this recipe is made with a shortbread crust. The apples are quite humid after cooking so the puff pastry often gets too soft once the tart has been turned around after cooking. The shortbread crust resists better to the humidity. But you can use either as you prefer. You can buy the dough ready-made and rolled out to simplify the recipe or you can make the same dough as in the Pistachio tart recipe.

THE TIPS TO SUCCEED

1: Be patient when making the caramel and don’t use a high temperature. It takes time to melt the sugar. You want to the caramel to be only light brown since it will continue to cook in the oven. If the caramel is dark before baking you may get a burned taste

2: You should serve the tart rapidly after having turned it over. The juice from the apples will soften up the crust if waiting too long

Let’s get started

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 120 g Sugar
• 10-11 pcs Golden Apples
• 90 g Salted butter
• 1 pcs Shortbread crust (ready-made or recipe from Pistachio tart)
• 1 pcs Lemon
• Cinnamon
• Unsalted butter for the pan
• Crème Fraiche

How to do it?

Peel and remove the middle of the apples. Cut them in four and cover with lemon juice to avoid the apples turning brown.

Smear a 24 cm ovenproof pan (glass, ceramic, Téfal…) with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Heat the oven to 200°c.

Make a caramel by melting the sugar. Use low medium/low heat and be patient. Don’t stir the sugar until completely melted. The caramel should not be too dark since it will continue to cook in the oven. Add the salted butter little by little and keep stirring until completely mixed. Add 1-2 tsp of cinnamon in the caramel depending on your taste (I use 2!).

Pour the caramel into the buttered pan.

Place the first layers of apples tightly by placing the outside of the apples down into the pan. For the second layer place the apples with the outside upwards. Sprinkle the apples with sugar, cinnamon and few small pieces of unsalted butter.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

Leave to cool down for 30 minutes.

Place the rolled out dough on top of the apples and press the edges around them.

Press the dough and the apples into the pan.

Cook for 35 min, or until medium brown.

Let the tart cool down for 30-45 minutes.

Cut around the edges of the tart to release it from the pan, place a big serving plate on top and turn it swiftly around.

How to serve the Tarte Tatin?

Serve the Tarte Tatin still warm with a thick Crème Fraiche and savour the taste and the texture…