Apple tarte tatin
Torta Tatin
This easy recipe for an apple tarte tatin enables you to make the classic upside-down apple pie oozing caramelized sugar.
Tarte Tatin is a French classic, but it has nevertheless been included in ‘Il cucchiaio d’argente’ cookbook (The Silver Spoon 
) since 1950, and Italian restaurants often elaborate on the concept and come up with new interpretations like the ‘Torta Tatin di pomodoro’ or ‘alle albicocche’. This, however, is the original version with caramelized apples on pastry.
The guiding principle behind a tarte tatin is apple pie turned upside down. Instead of lining a pie plate with pastry and filling it up with apples, you line it with apples, seal it with pastry and let it somersault onto a plate before serving. It’s quite easy, providing you have an ovenproof frying pan.
Ingredients
For the pastry
225 g flour
1 tbsp sugar
A pinch of salt
125 g butter
For the filling
7 golden apples
125 g butter
160 g sugar
Preparation
Start by preparing the pastry. Mix flour with sugar and a pinch of salt.
Cut the butter in the flour and rub it to resemble fine bread crumbs.
Gather the pastry together with a drop of cold water until it forms a ball.
Wrap the pastry in plastic and keep it cool until the apple filling has been prepared.
For the filling peel the apples, cut them in halves and remove the core.
Melt butter on a frying pan, stir in the sugar, and turn down the heat to moderate.
Arrange the apples with the rounded side down in the butter and sugar and keep frying for 15-20 minutes.
Roll the pastry out to a disc the size of the frying pan between two sheets of parchment paper.
Remove the top layer of paper and use the other one to make a pastry lid on the frying pan so that the apples are covered.
Place the frying pan in the oven at 175 C (350 F) for 30 minutes. (Most recipes prescribe higher oven temperatures, but I’d rather give it a bit longer than have it burned)
Let the apple tarte tatin cool for a couple of minutes before you place a heatproof dish on top of the pan, turn it upside down and remove the frying pan. Be careful: caramelized sugar is burning hot.
Apple tarte tatin should be served warm with a scoop of crème fraiche or ice cream.
It can be reheated just before serving if you sprinkle it with icing sugar and place it under the grill for a few minutes until the icing sugar has caramelized.
More apple desserts
Apple tarte tatin is a fried apple pie turned upside down.
I don’t know how the restaurants change it but the original version looks delicious! This actually looks easier than an “apple pie” which in the U.S. is normally double crusted. I like the idea of just one crust but mostly, I like the idea of having the apples caramelize against the pan during cooking. This looks SO good!
I love the ring of the Italian name for Tarte Tatin..it just rolls off the tongue. Speaking of tongue, I’d love a slice of yours on it! Looks fabulous!
This really looks saucy and sweet! It must be all the buter in the filling. It looks so nice and smooth.
This sounds awesome! I love these!
This looks lovely!
I wish I could dip my spoon into my screen for a bite! Looks so delicious!