Cookbook Recipes

Cookbook Desserts

Classic Tarte Tatin

Apple quarters cooked in caramel on the stovetop, baked under pastry and turned out.

Cook
1 h 07
Total
1 h 07
Yield
Serves 8
Going in
Moderate
Steps
7

The classic version from Lamotte-Beuvron. Apple quarters are packed tight into caramel, cooked on the stovetop until they concentrate, then capped with pastry and baked.

Use apples that hold their shape. Reinette, Golden Delicious and Braeburn all work. Avoid McIntosh and Cortland, which collapse.

Method 7 steps

  1. Prepare the apples

    Cut the apples into quarters and toss them with the lemon juice. Heat the oven to 190C / 375F.

    Quarters have enough body to survive the stovetop stage and stay recognisable when the tart is turned out. Eighths break down.

  2. Start the caramel 7 min

    Scatter the sugar evenly across the skillet and dot with the butter and salt. Melt over medium heat without stirring, until the sugar turns pale gold. Swirl the pan rather than stirring with a spoon.

    Stirring encourages the sugar to crystallise.

  3. Pack the pan

    Off the heat, stand the apple quarters on edge in tight concentric circles, rounded side down into the caramel, all leaning the same way. Pack them firmly and fill the centre with any leftover pieces.

    The apples shrink as they cook, so any gap left now becomes a hole in the finished tart.

  4. Cook on the stovetop 30 min

    Return the pan to medium low heat and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes. The apples soften and settle as the caramel darkens to deep amber. Tilt the pan now and then and spoon caramel over the top.

    If the apples release a lot of liquid, pour it off, reduce it separately and return it to the pan.

    This stage concentrates the apples and builds the caramel colour before the pastry goes on. Take the caramel darker than feels comfortable, since the apples add sweetness.

  5. Add the pastry

    Roll the pastry to a circle about 2 cm wider than the pan. Drape it over the hot apples and tuck the overhang down inside the rim. Cut three steam vents.

    The tucked edge forms the rim of the tart once it is inverted.

  6. Bake

    Bake at 190C / 375F for about 30 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and browned all over.

    Pale patches of pastry turn soggy once the tart is inverted.

  7. Rest and turn out

    Let the tart stand for 15 minutes so the caramel thickens but stays fluid. Run a knife around the edge, set a serving plate over the skillet and invert in one motion. Move any stray apples back into place with a spoon.

    Serve warm with creme fraiche.

    Turn out too soon and the caramel runs, too late and it sets and glues the tart to the pan. If that happens, warm the skillet over low heat for 30 seconds.