TABELIA

AUTHENTIC RECIPE

Tarte Tatin

Tarte Tatin
Difficulty★★★★☆ Prep25 min Cook1 hr servings4

An upside-down tart: apples simmer in caramel in the tin, are covered with pâte brisée and baked, then inverted while hot. Known as the specialty of a sisters' hotel in Sologne, it unites caramel bitterness with apple acidity, ideally from tart varieties such as Kogyoku. Homemade pastry gives even the caramel-soaked edges an authentic texture.

Recipe developed and reviewed by the Tabelia Editorial TeamUpdated
100/ 100

AUTHENTICITY SCORE

Authenticity Score

This is the standard recipe, exactly as it’s made where it comes from — the highest Authenticity Score possible. Substituting ingredients changes this score; the app shows exactly how, ingredient by ingredient.

Ingredients (4 servings)

  • ApplesUse tart Japanese-grown apples such as Kogyoku. Peel, core and cut into 4 wedges.6 pieces
  • Cake flourFor pâte brisée, shortcrust pastry.150 g
  • Unsalted butter (for pastry)For pâte brisée; use cold, cut into 1 cm cubes.75 g
  • Cold waterTo bind the dough; keep refrigerated.45 ml
  • SaltFor the pastry.1 pinch
  • Unsalted butter (for caramel)For cooking apples in caramel.80 g
  • Granulated sugarFor caramel, the structure of this tart.120 g

Method

110 min

Make pâte brisée

  • 1 Mix 150 g flour and 1 pinch salt in a bowl.
  • 2 Add 75 g cold butter in 1 cm cubes and rub quickly with fingertips until yellowish crumbs form.
  • 3 Drizzle in 45 ml cold water and press together without kneading; continue once no dry flour remains.
230 min

Rest the dough

  • 1 Flatten into a disc, wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
  • 2 Resting relaxes gluten and prevents shrinkage.
310 min

Peel and core apples

  • 1 MeanwhileWhile the dough rests, peel 6 apples, cut lengthwise into 4 and core.
  • 2 Arrange the pieces on a tray as they are cut.
48 min

Make caramel

  • 1 Melt 80 g butter over medium heat in an ovenproof pan or Tatin tin about 20 cm across, then scatter in 120 g sugar.

Ready when

Heat without excessive stirring; continue when deeply amber, like pale coffee, and smelling toasted.

Darkening too far makes it excessively bitter. Watch constantly once color develops.

520 min

Cook apples in caramel

  • 1 MeanwhileWhile the apples cook, begin preheating the oven to 180°C.
  • 2 Pack apples rounded-side down over caramel, working radially from the outside with no gaps and filling the center.
  • 3 Cook over medium heat for 15–20 minutes; continue when edges turn translucent and the bubbling caramel thickens.
65 min

Cover with pastry

  • 1 Turn off the heat.
  • 2 Roll rested dough on a floured surface into a circle slightly larger than the tin, 3 mm thick, and cover the apples.
  • 3 Tuck edges inside and prick the surface in several places.
730 min

Bake the tart

  • 1 Bake at 180°C for 25–30 minutes.
  • 2 It is done when the pastry is deeply golden and caramel bubbles at the edges.
85 min

Invert onto a plate

  • 1 Remove from the oven, settle for only 5 minutes and always invert while hot.
  • 2 Cover with a plate larger than the tin, grip both firmly with oven mitts and invert in one motion.
  • 3 Hot caramel may drip; working over the sink is safer.

Caution

On cooling, caramel sets and prevents unmolding.

A view of Hôtel Tatin, Lamotte-Beuvron
Hôtel Tatin, Lamotte-BeuvronFrance Photo: Croquant · CC BY-SA 4.0 (resized; display cropped)

About this dish

South of Paris beyond the Loire lies Sologne, a hunting landscape of forests and ponds. In its central town of Lamotte-Beuvron, this tart became known as the specialty of the Tatin sisters' hotel in the late 19th century. Its upside-down method, cooking apples with caramel below pastry, is passed down with the story of an accidental mistake by the sisters.

In the 20th century it spread after a famous Paris restaurant put it on the menu, and now ranks among the most standard bistro desserts across France. Its appearance on a dessert trolley or blackboard is said to persuade many diners to choose it.

Autumn and winter apple season is its natural time, and families bake it to conclude Sunday lunch. A warm slice with a spoonful of cold crème fraîche, cultured cream, is a common local way to enjoy it.

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