Tarte Tatin
The name of this book (and before that my blog) was inspired by my favorite dessert. The signature dish and namesake of Hotel Tatin—located 100 miles south of Paris in the center of the Loire Valley—dates back to 1910. Believe it or not, this recipe originated from a mistake made by one of the two Tatin sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline, who owned the hotel. Stéphanie, the older sister and cook, accidentally left the apples for a tart cooking too long on the stove. Out of desperation, she put a pastry crust on top of the skillet then threw it into a hot oven. The results received rave reviews that evening from the hotel guests and tarte Tatin was born.
With this inspiration, I began the Tarte Tatin Tales blog in 2017 as a place to share insightful tips, recipes, and words of wisdom—plus impart my love for la bonne vie. It is only fitting then, that this delicious, caramelized apple upside-down tart be the last recipe of this book.
I’ve tinkered with many tarte Tatin variations but finally settled on this one, a composite from several sources: The crust using oatmeal comes from cooking instructor Ken Haedrich and the caramelized apple filling from chef Vincent Scotto. There is much debate about which variety of apple to use for tarte Tatin. Golden Delicious apples are, despite their lackluster image, my preferred choice.
For years, I used a simple, cast-iron skillet. However, based on the recommendation of cookbook editor Deborah Mintcheff, I now use a copper tarte Tatin pan—a Christmas gift to myself. Just as she predicted, the dessert makes a perfect landing from the tarte Tatin pan onto the serving platter, a maneuver which otherwise can be slightly tricky.
Ingredients:
Oatmeal Crust
1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ½-inch pieces
4 tablespoons ice water
Filling
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
¾ cup granulated sugar (or a mix of light brown and granulated sugar)
2 tablespoons Calvados (or dark rum)
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
6 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
1 cup crème fraîche or unsweetened whipped cream for serving
Cooking instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. For the oatmeal crust: Blend the oats and sugar in a food processor until the oats are finely ground. Add the flour and salt and pulse on/off several times. Add the butter and pulse on/off until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Pulse in[DR3] [MP4] the ice water, tablespoon by tablespoon, until the mixture begins to clump together.
3. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour. (The dough can be made up to 2 days ahead.)
4. For the filling: In a 9- to 10-inch cast-iron or nonstick skillet (cover handle with foil if not oven-safe), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and Calvados, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture starts to bubble, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and remove from the heat.
5. Arrange the apple quarters on their sides in a tight, circular fashion over the sugar mixture to fill the skillet. Place several apple wedges in the center. Cut any remaining quarters into smaller pieces to fill in empty spaces.
6. Cook the apples on the stove over medium-high heat until the sugar crystalizes and turn golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Do not stir! Remove from the heat and set aside.
7. Remove the dough from the refrigerator 20 minutes before you are ready to roll it out.
8. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 1/8-inch-thick round, about 1 inch larger than the skillet. Carefully place the dough round over the apples in the skillet, tucking in any overhang between the apples and the pan edge. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden brown in color. Set the skillet on a wire rack and allow to cool for 20 minutes.
9. Loosen the edges of the tart with a knife. Then, using oven mittens, place a serving platter over the skillet and carefully invert skillet and platter. Remove the skillet and rearrange any pieces of apple that may have remained in the skillet. Serve warm with a dollop of crème fraîche or whipped cream.
Serves: 6 to 8
Wine recommendation: What else but a snifter of Calvados brandy from Normandy, France.
[DR1]still true ? Maybe better to give year instead, so book will be timeless
[MP2]You are so right. Started the blog in 2017.
[DR3]“Pulse in…” instead of “mix in” ?
[MP4]Yes. Like this.