**Tarte Tatin: A Classic French Upside-Down Caramel Apple Tart**
Tarte Tatin is a classic French upside-down caramel apple tart that is sure to impress your friends and family. This rustic yet elegant dessert features a buttery puff pastry crust filled with tender, caramelized apples and a rich caramel sauce. The tart is traditionally made with Granny Smith apples, but you can use any variety of apples you like. This article provides two different recipes for Tarte Tatin: a classic version and a simplified version that uses a store-bought puff pastry crust. Both recipes are easy to follow and will result in a delicious and impressive tart.
TARTE TATIN
This French tart is a beautiful way to eat apples. From-scratch puff pastry is usually out of reach of the home cook, but this technique (made with simply grated butter, flour and water) is an easy cheat.
Provided by Food Network Kitchen
Categories dessert
Time 2h20m
Yield 6 to 8 servings
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Coarsely grate 2 sticks (1 cup) of the butter on the large holes of a box grater onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Toss the butter with a sprinkle of flour and arrange the butter in an even layer on the prepared sheet. Freeze until rock solid, about 30 minutes.
- Whisk together the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Fold in the frozen butter pieces. Slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup ice water, whisking with a fork until small pieces form and the dough just starts to come together, being careful not to overwork it. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out into a 12-by-1/4-inch-thick circle. Transfer to the other prepared baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, peel, core and halve the apples. Cut all but one of the apple halves in half again. Put the lemon juice in a large bowl and toss the apple pieces with the lemon juice; set aside. Cut the remaining 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter into small cubes; set aside.
- Sprinkle the sugar over the bottom of a large ovenproof skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until melted and amber brown, about 6 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and whisk in the cubed butter until melted and smooth (the sugar will start to bubble as the butter cools it down).
- Place the apple half in the center of the skillet rounded-side down. Arrange the remaining apple quarters rounded-side down in a tight circle around the center apple, making sure there is as little space between the apples as possible (any space left between apples will cause the tart to collapse when flipped out of the skillet).
- Place the pastry round on top and carefully tuck the edges down around the apples. Poke the pastry all over with a fork. Bake until the apples are cooked through and the pastry is golden brown, about 1 hour. Let cool for 5 minutes in the skillet; any longer will cause the caramel to harden and make it very hard to get the tart out of the skillet. Place a serving dish or cake stand upside down on top of the skillet. Using oven mitts, carefully flip the skillet over to invert the tart onto the serving dish. Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream.
EASY APPLE TARTE TATIN
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a wide skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add in the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract and salt and whisk to combine. Add the apples to the caramel mixture and gently stir together, coating the apples in the caramel. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are slightly tender, 5 to 8 minutes depending on the size of your apples. Note: If the mixture begins to get too thick, add some water to loosen it up.
- Transfer the apples to a 10-inch nonstick ovenproof skillet and arrange them cut-side up, making sure to evenly cover the bottom of the skillet. Drizzle half the caramel sauce over the apples, then return the caramel to the heat and cook until thick and glossy, another 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Roughly measure and cut the puff pastry sheet to approximately the size of the top of the skillet. Place the puff pastry on top of the apples and gently tuck the sides in ever so slightly. Cut the remaining scraps of puff pastry and evenly spread across the top (this will give the tarte tatin some volume).
- Bake until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, invert a plate on top and quickly (but carefully) flip onto the plate. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and the remaining caramel sauce.
FOOLPROOF TARTE TATIN
Tarte Tatin isn't as American as apple pie, but it's a whole lot easier. With just four ingredients, it's all about the apples: the lovely taste and shape of the fruit are preserved by sugar and heat, with a buttery-salty crust underneath. This recipe from Gotham Bar and Grill in New York has a couple of tricks that make it easier to pull off than others: dry the apples out before baking; start by coating the pan with butter instead of making a caramel; use tall chunks of apple and hug them together in the pan to prevent overcooking.
Provided by Julia Moskin
Categories dinner, lunch, pies and tarts, dessert
Time 1h30m
Yield 8 servings
Number Of Ingredients 4
Steps:
- At least one day before you plan to cook the tart, prepare the apples: Slice off the bottom of each apple so it has a flat base. Peel and quarter the apples. Use a small sharp knife to trim the hard cores and seeds from the center of each quarter; don't worry about being too neat. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate, lightly covered, for at least one day or up to three days. (This key step reduces the amount of liquid in the tart. Don't worry if the apples turn brown; they will be browned during the cooking anyway.)
- When ready to cook, heat oven to 375 degrees (or 350 if using convection). Thickly coat the bottom of a 10-inch heavy ovenproof skillet, preferably nonstick metal, with butter. Sprinkle sugar evenly on top.
- Cut one piece of apple into a thick round disk and place in the center of the skillet to serve as the "button." Arrange the remaining apple pieces, each one standing on its flat end, in concentric circles around the button. Keep the pieces close together so that they support one another, standing upright. They will look like the petals of a flower.
- On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry about 1/8-inch thick. Place an upside-down bowl or pan on the pastry and use the tip of a sharp knife to cut out a circle about the same size as the top of your skillet. Lift out the circle and drape gently over the apples. Use your hands to tuck the pastry around the apple pieces, hugging them together firmly.
- Place the skillet on the stovetop over medium heat until golden-brown juice begins to bubble around the edges, 3 minutes (if the juices keep rising, spoon out as needed to remain level with pastry). If necessary, raise the heat so that the juices are at a boil. Keep cooking until the juices are turning darker brown and smell caramelized, no longer than 10 minutes more.
- Transfer skillet to the oven and bake 45 to 50 minutes, until puff pastry is browned and firm.
- Let cool 5 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a round serving plate. (Or, if not serving immediately, let cool completely in the pan; when ready to serve, rewarm for 15 minutes in a 350-degree oven before turning out.) If any apples remain stuck in the pan, gently use your fingers or a spatula to retrieve them, and rearrange on the pastry shell. Cut in wedges and serve warm with heavy cream, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 242, UnsaturatedFat 3 grams, Carbohydrate 39 grams, Fat 10 grams, Fiber 4 grams, Protein 1 gram, SaturatedFat 5 grams, Sodium 78 milligrams, Sugar 31 grams, TransFat 0 grams
TARTE TATIN
Steps:
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, place the flours, sugar and butter. Pulse 5 or 6 times in 1/2-second bursts to break up the butter. Add the shortening, turn on the machine and immediately add the ice water, pulsing 2 or 3 times. The dough should look like a mass of smallish lumps and should just hold together in a mass when a handful is pressed together. If the mixture is too dry, pulse in more water by droplets.
- Turn the dough out onto the work surface and with the heel of your hand, rapidly and roughly push egg-size blobs into a 6-inch smear. Gather the dough into a relatively smooth cake, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours (or up to 2 days).
- Slice the halved apples into 4 lengthwise wedges each, and toss in a large bowl with the lemon juice and zest and 1/2 cup sugar. Drain the apples after macerating 20 minutes.
- In a 9-inch skillet melt the butter over high heat. Stir in the remaining sugar and cook until the syrup bubbles and caramelizes, and turns a brown color. Remove the pan from the heat and arrange a layer of apple slices in a neat pattern on the caramel in the skillet, then arrange the remaining apples neatly on top.
- Return the pan to moderately high heat and cook for about 25 minutes, covering the pan after 10 minutes. Every few minutes press down on the apples and baste them with the exuded juices. When the juices are thick and syrupy, remove the pan from the heat.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a circle, 3/16-inch thick and 1-inch larger than the top of the pan. Drape the dough over the apples, pressing the edge of the dough between the apples and the inside of the pan. Cut 4 small steam holes on the top of the dough. Bake until the pastry has browned and crisped, about 20 minutes.
- Unmold the tart onto a serving dish (so the pastry is on the bottom), and serve warm or cold with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, as desired.
MARTHA'S FAVORITE TARTE TATIN
This recipe comes from Martha's "Pies & Tarts."
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Dessert & Treats Recipes Pie & Tarts Recipes
Yield Makes one 9-inch tart
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Halve and core apples. Set aside one half. Quarter remaining apples and transfer to a large bowl. Squeeze lemon over apple slices and set aside.
- Combine sugar and water in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat; immediately reduce heat to medium and cook until mixture begins to thicken and turn amber. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
- Place reserved apples in center of skillet. Decoratively arrange remaining apple slices, cut side up, in skillet around reserved apples. Continue layering slices until level with top of skillet. Cut any remaining apples into thick slices to fill in gaps. If fruit does not completely fill pan, tart will collapse when inverted.
- Place skillet over low heat and cook until syrup thickens and is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Do not let syrup burn. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- Roll out pate brisee to a 10- to 11-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick; transfer to a baking sheet and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Place pate brisee over apples and tuck edges. Transfer skillet to prepared baking sheet; transfer baking sheet to oven and bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 15 to 20 minutes. Loosen pastry from skillet using a sharp knife. Place a rimmed platter over skillet; quickly and carefully invert. Serve immediately.
TARTE TATIN -- EASY VERSION
Classic French apple tart. I make this every fall during apple season, usually end up with the recipe memorized as I'm churning out my 14th, or 15th, tarte by the end of the year. Use tart Granny Smiths for best results. Use store-bought puff pastry to make it super easy! I found this method by trial and error to bypass making caramel first. (At the suggestion of my friends 2Bleu, a note about traditional tarte tatin: The traditional tarte tatin starts by making caramel in a cast-iron skillet first, then cooks the apples in the caramel on the stovetop, then has you make a crust like a pie crust, which gets placed on top of the apples, then the whole thing is moved into the oven. It's delicious, but a tedious method. So I played around in the kitchen until I discovered this method by a wonderful accident! Don't you love when that happens? ;-) )
Provided by Susiecat too
Categories Tarts
Time 2h
Yield 12 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 5
Steps:
- Mix sugar and melted butter and press evenly into greased 8" or 9" round cake pan.
- Put apples on their sides in rows decoratively around pan, packing closely together and filling small spaces with broken segments of apples.
- Sprinkle tops of apples lightly with cinnamon if desired.
- Bake uncovered at 425F about 1-1 ½ hours.
- If apples start to burn, they can be covered toward the end of the baking time.
- Meanwhile, unfold pastry sheet and cut to fit pan. Use another pan to trace shape if necessary.
- Poke fork holes into both sides of puff pastry sheet to allow air to escape while baking.
- Press pastry on top of baked apples, pushing edges down. Bake another 20 minutes.
- Cool partially, then invert to a platter. Serve warm.
EASY TARTE TATIN (COOK'S ILLUSTRATED)
You can use this with apples or pears. Variation below. If using apples, be sure to use firm ones, preferably granny smith or golden delicious. To thaw puff pastry, thaw overnight in the fridge (preferred method). If you don't have that kind of time, thaw on the counter for 30-60 minutes. It should unfold easily, but feel firm. If seams crack, rejoin by rolling them smooth with a rolling pin. If the dough gets too warm and softens, place it in the freezer until firm again.
Provided by Debbie R.
Categories Tarts
Time 1h20m
Yield 6-8 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Adjust rack to middle position in oven and then heat to 400. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the puff pastry on the parchment. Bake until golden brown and puffed, 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter; press lightly to flatten if domed.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a 12-inch, nonstick skillet over high heat. Remove the pan from heat and spinkle evenly with the sugar. Lay the apples in the skillet. Return to heat. Cook, stirring apples halfway through, until the juices in the pan turn a rich amber color and apples are carmelized, about 15 minutes.
- Remove apples from the pan one at a time. Arrange them in overlapping rows on the pastry square, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Spoon about half of the pan juices over the apples.
- Whisk the cream and Grand Marnier (if using) into the remaining juices in the pan. Bring to a simmer. Pour some sauce over the tart just before serving, passing the remaining sauce separately.
- FOR PEAR TATIN: Substitute 2 lbs. pears (about 4) for the apples. You may need to increase the carmelization time to 20-25 minutes. Use Poire William instead of Grand Marnier if using a liquor.
- LIQUOR OPTION FOR APPLES: Cognac. I believe it is a classically French pairing with apple desserts. It's not the Cook's Illustrated version, tho, if you want to use strictly their recipe. I used it in a different tart recipe once, and it was awesome. Thanks to the first reviewer for this idea!
Tips:
- Use a heavy-bottomed skillet that is ovenproof. This will help to evenly distribute the heat and prevent the tarte from burning.
- Make sure the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved before adding the apples. This will help to create a nice caramel sauce.
- Arrange the apple slices in a single layer, slightly overlapping, in the skillet. This will help to ensure that they cook evenly.
- Bake the tarte until the crust is golden brown and the apples are tender. This will usually take about 30 minutes.
- Let the tarte cool for a few minutes before inverting it onto a serving plate. This will help to prevent the caramel sauce from running off.
- Serve the tarte warm or at room temperature. It can be topped with whipped cream, ice cream, or a dollop of crème fraîche.
Conclusion:
Tarte Tatin is a classic French dessert that is both delicious and easy to make. With its simple ingredients and rustic appearance, it is a perfect dish for any occasion. Whether you are entertaining guests or simply looking for a sweet treat, Tarte Tatin is sure to please.
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