Tarte Tatin and the pan it flipped out of. Photo: Jolene
You know it’s Autumn when you see a line-up of caramel apples at the market. They made me think about Tarte Tatin, that delicious and iconic French upside-down apple tart.
There are so many colorful and conflicting origin stories about this dessert. But at the center of them are always the Tatin sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline who ran the Hotel Tatin located in the Sologne region of the Loire Valley in France at the end of the 19th Century.
After a recent renovation, the Hotel Tatin re-opened in 2021 as La Maison Tatin and of course the signature dessert is prominently featured on both the menu and on the website.
La Maison Tatin, 2022. Photo used with permission, Courtesy of La Maison Tatin
La Maison Tatin
The story of how Tarte Tatin was created involves Stéphanie ingeniously correcting a mistake she made during baking. This account is from La Maison Tatin:
If we head back in our time machine, we find ourselves in an impeccably maintained building on the opening Sunday of the hunt. While baking a traditional apple pie for the hungry hunters, overworked Stéphanie becomes a little flustered in the heat of the moment and leaves the apples cooking in butter and sugar a little too long.
Trying to rescue the situation , she decides to simply add the pastry base on top and finish the baking by putting the whole thing back in the oven.
To her surprise, the hunters love her ‘upside down’ creation, having no idea that it will become the famous Tarte Tatin, a dish known all over the world.
— La Maison Tatin, 2022
The sun-dappled Tea Room of La Maison Tatin, and the beautiful signature dessert. Photo used with permission, Courtesy of La Maison Tatin
But wait, there’s more
There is an argument that the dish was simply a different version of the already existing ‘tarte Solognote’ created years before with the gorgeous fruit of the region.
More intrigue surrounds the tale of someone from Maxim’s in Paris infiltrating the Hotel Tatin posing as a gardener and making off with the recipe.
Whatever the whole and true story is, one thing is for sure: the Tatin sisters were known to make apple tarts that were so good they became not only the signature dessert of the hotel but of the entire Sologne region.
Food writer Felicity Cloake writing in National Geographic lays it all out in this charming and informative article Deconstructing Tarte Tatin which if you have a moment to read I know you’ll enjoy. The article links to the recipe I used, also by Felicity Cloake.
Baking the Tarte Tatin
Cooling off for a little bit before the flip. Photo: Jolene
I haven’t made Tarte Tatin in a while, but in the past I’ve always peeled the apples.
Not needed in this recipe! You just cut them in half and core and then let them sit in the refrigerator, skin-side-down (the recipe says longer, but I just had them in there for an hour) to take some of the moisture out so the juices don’t run. It worked! They get a little discolored, but it doesn’t matter because they are going into the caramel after all.
Before I baked I viewed a You Tube video of Jacques Pépin making Tarte Tatin — he also left the apple skin on. I’d been concerned that the skin wouldn’t get soft enough but it did and added really nice texture.
The pastry recipe worked perfectly and was crisp, buttery and all-round delicious. The only thing I did that was different was sprinkle just a little sugar (for browning and a touch of sweetness) on the top of the dough before it went into the oven.
Tarte Tatin is usually served in France without anything else, but ice cream or whipped cream would be great with it. Photo: Jolene
Notes:
I used a ceramic (on stainless) non-stick oven-proof 8-inch pan. Cast iron is also a good choice, but use whatever you have that won’t stick and can go in the oven.
When you are making the caramel DO NOT stir the sugar and water or it will seize - just swirl the entire pan around gently.
I used Gala apples but Granny Smith, Cox, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp or Braeburn (or a mix) are also good choices — you don’t want ‘soft’ apples, they won’t hold up.
If you search ‘Tarte Tatin’ online, you’ll see images ranging from a light to dark finish on the apples after baking, different sizes and shapes of slices, peeled and unpeeled, thicker or thinner crust, different methods of prep, etc. I was very happy with this recipe (as were my taste testers) and you may already have a favorite, but search around and see what you like — there’s a lot out there.
And if you don’t feel like baking, you can always have one of these!
My inspiration. Affy Tapple Caramel Apples are made in Illinois and have been produced here since 1948. I have one every year and they are delicious.
Many thanks to La Maison Tatin for granting permission to use their photographs.
Have a good weekend, everyone, and a Happy Rosh Hashanah to all who celebrate!
Nice idea using the halves. Sometimes slices can be overwhelmed by the sweetness of the caramel. This is one of those dishes we associate with a place, the long closed Au Tatin in the Marais neighborhood of Paris--on a bitterly cold, snow-wept January night when nothing could warm you except a Calvados and a slice of Tatin. Nice story about the family.
This is such a beautiful dessert with an interesting history. I have always been a bit intimidated by the process, especially after watching Julia Child make one years ago! Nothing stopped her!
Nice idea using the halves. Sometimes slices can be overwhelmed by the sweetness of the caramel. This is one of those dishes we associate with a place, the long closed Au Tatin in the Marais neighborhood of Paris--on a bitterly cold, snow-wept January night when nothing could warm you except a Calvados and a slice of Tatin. Nice story about the family.
This is such a beautiful dessert with an interesting history. I have always been a bit intimidated by the process, especially after watching Julia Child make one years ago! Nothing stopped her!