You can repeat some recipes repeatedly, but never quite get to the promised land. Julia Child’s tarte tatin is one of them. When I revisit the tarte tatin post from a year ago, I’m not satisfied with its look. Then I read about the foolproof tarte tatin recipe on the New York Times (NYT), I itch to give it a spin.
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. —Julia Moskin
With just four ingredients: apple, sugar, butter and puff pastry, tarte tatin is one of the easiest recipes to assemble. The other less obvious, but absolutely essential, ingredient is time. According to the NYT recipe, the peeled and cut apples go in the refrigerator for at least one day or up to three days. The idea is to dry the apples as much as possible. Well, this can be the easy part as you plan ahead.
The other steps involve making a buttery caramel sauce, arranging the apples in the pan and lining a pastry lid atop the apples. See the recipe below for details.
When the tarte tatin is in the oven, I find myself listlessly anticipating the subsequently steps and the results. Anxiety is perhaps part of the game! How long should I wait for the tarte tatin to cool? What do I use to flip the heavy cast iron skillet without dropping it? Will the tarte tatin unmold and stay as one piece? Finally, does it look better than the last time?
Sadly, the answer to the latter is no. The ratio between apple to butter/sugar seems to be off. There are a lot more liquid on the bottom of the pastry, making it soggy. The puff pastry puffs up a lot more than expected. Or maybe I haven’t packed in more apple pieces tightly enough. Or perhaps a smaller skillet? Guess what, there will be another repeat, version 3.0, to get it right!
Foolproof Tarte Tatin
Ingredients
- 6 to 8 large, firm-fleshed apples, preferably Braeburn, or use a mix of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith
- 6 tablespoons/80 grams salted butter, very soft
- ⅔ cup/135 grams granulated or light brown sugar
- 1 sheet all-butter puff pastry, about 8 ounces (store-bought is fine)
Instructions
PREPARE THE APPLES: 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.)
HEAT THE OVEN AND PREPARE THE SKILLET: 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 non-stick metal, with butter. Sprinkle sugar evenly on top.
ARRANGE THE APPLES IN CONCENTRIC CIRCLES: 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.
CUT OUT THE PASTRY TOP: 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.
MAKE THE BUTTER/SUGAR BASE: 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.
BAKE: Transfer skillet to the oven and bake 45 to 50 minutes, until puff pastry is browned and firm.
COOL DOWN AND SERVE: 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.
Notes
Adpated from the New York Times. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016883-foolproof-tarte-tatin
3 Comments
Tina
April 15, 2021 at 12:19 pmOh man, that looks so good. I could lick the screen! Great dessert and treat.
Kim Tracy
April 18, 2021 at 4:20 pmWell, I have to say that it certainly looks incredible, especially that caramel. I also know that this is a tough recipe to nail on the head! I tried making it once and it tasted ok, but looked like a mess. Definitely a recipe worth perfecting.
I like the tip about drying the apples out days in advance. I think they’re on to something there!
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