French Tarte Tatin Recipe
Tarte Tatin, the delicious French apple cake is a traditional French dessert served in France and throughout the world. Its distinctive caramelised apple was apparently created by mistake by the Tatin sisters who served it in their hotel. It is made with a crisp buttery crust and sliced apple (or sometimes pear) caramelised in butter and sugar and served upside down.
History of the Tarte Tatin
The Tatin sisters, Caroline and Stephanie, who ran a restaurant near Orleans at the beginning of the 20th Century are given the credit for inventing this famous French dish but whether they actually invented it or made it famous, we'll never know. The story goes that while cooking for guests at their hotel-restaurant, the Tatin sisters accidentally dropped the tarte and baked it upside down. Another story goes that they accidentally baked it for too long and therefore created the delicious caramelised flavour. The tarte tatin also rose to popularity being served at Maxim's Restaurant in Paris. The dessert was first offered at the luxury restaurant in 1926.
More...
National Apple Pie Day (United States)
Did you know that in the United States the apple pie has its own day of national celebration? Annually on the 13th of May, the humble apple pie is celebrated. Cool huh! Well I think that American Apple Pie is close enough to French Tarte Tatin to be celebrated together, so our family often eats Tarte Tatin on the 13th of May.
Another delicious French creation using apples is Calvados. Calvados is the traditional drink of Normandy, a region in the northwest of France. Calvados is a high quality apple brandy named after the department and the local products used to produce it. Our post Calvados, The Apple Brandy of Normandy has everything about this French liquor together with interesting information about the department of Calvados.
Calvados is a staple drink in our home and when stocks run low, we have the perfect excuse to go on a day trip to Calvados and of course come home with another couple of bottles for our drinks trolley.
French Tarte Tatin Recipe
My Tarte Tatin recipe is a compilation of a few recipes that I've tweaked to suit myself and serves around 8 persons.
Ingredients
1.5 kg dessert apples
70 g unsalted butter
170 g caster sugar
1 quantity of tarte pastry
Method
- Preheat your oven to 190°. Then peel, core and cut your apples into quarters. Put the butter and sugar in a deep 25cm frying pan with ovenproof handle.
- Once the butter and sugar have melted, place the apple pieces tightly beside each other in the pan making sure there are no gaps in between. Remember how you arrange the pieces in your pan will determine the final look once it is turned upside down.
- Cook your apples until soft on a low heat and the caramel liquid is pale brown. During this stage baste your apples occasionally with the caramel (use a pastry brush) so that the tops caramelise also. By the time the apple is soft the liquid should have evaporated.
- Roll out your tarte pastry onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it until it is a bit larger than your frypan and about 3mm thick.
- Place your pastry over the apples and press down around the edge to enclose your apples in the pan. You can neaten up the edge by trimming the excess.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until your pastry is golden. After removing the frypan from the oven (remember your handle will be extremely hot) let it cool down for about 10 minutes before turning the tarte out.
- We usually serve with creme (adults) and/or icecream (the kids and my husband).
Other French Recipes
I hope you enjoy baking your Tarte Tatin and if you would like to try your hand at other French dishes we also have these recipes for you to try:
Cassoulet - A Winter Favourite - this is a family winter favourite especially after we've visited the market and bought our saucisson
Mussels in White Wine & Garlic Recipe - our favourite summer evening meal and super easy
Tarte au Citron recipe - a zesty lemon dessert that is as French as it gets
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