Adapted from the original by John Mizewich, a.k.a. Chef John
The title of this piece should really be Aspirational Tarte Tatin. I only make it in the fall, during harvest season, so I have to re-learn how to do it every September. The first version features broken crust, uneven topping and burnt bits in the middle (see photograph for evidence).
I forget all the little tricks, like making the pastry first, chilling it for half an hour, rolling it out and chilling it again; like crowding the apples in, bumping them up right next to each other so there are many apples on every slice; like rotating the pan on the burner so the caramel cooks evenly.
So, the first version is always the aspirational version. But there will be many more—the little apples from our backyard tree ripen quickly, so if we want to eat them whole, we must do it fast. The rest are destined for apple juice, apple sauce and apple jelly, possibly even apple cider vinegar made with all the cores we’ve removed from the apples for many iterations of this wonderful, tricky, classic French tarte. I predict that you, too, will love the crisp, chewy caramel, the intense apple flavour and the beautiful, flaky crust.
Go forth, make Tarte Tatin and don’t be afraid to fail! It’s never inedible.
Harvest Season Tarte Tatin
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 12 to 15 newly harvested apple-crabs halved and cored, or 3 large Granny Smith or Honey Crisp apples, peeled, cored and quartered
- 1 9- inch unbaked pie crust
Pastry*
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup cold butter diced
- 7 Tbsp cold water
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Make the pastry before starting on the apples: place flour and salt in a food processor and pulse 2 or 3 times to combine.
- Add butter and pulse several times until the mix is the texture of coarse sand with some pea-sized pebbles of butter.
- Combine cold water and vinegar in a measuring cup and pour into the food processor, pulsing several times. Pinch the dough, and if it holds together, transfer onto a lightly-floured counter.
- At first, the dough will be quite crumbly and it will take some work to press into one large disc. Then, cut in half and press halves into two smaller discs. Wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
- Roll pastry out into a 10-inch circle and, with a spatula, slide it onto the back of a baking tray. Refrigerate while you deal with the apples.
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Set a 10-inch oven-proof frying pan over medium heat to melt the butter. Once it’s melted, add the sugar and stir to combine. Once the mixture is bubbling, remove the pan from the heat and place apples on the sugar and butter in a circular pattern, packing them closely.
- Return pan to the heat, increase to medium high and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until the sugar caramelizes and the apples soften. Remove from heat.
- Take the prepared crust from the fridge, loosen it from the pan with a spatula and slide it overtop of the apples. Tuck the edges of the pastry around the apples, being careful not to touch the filling—it’s really hot.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, no more.
- This is the tricky part: Wearing oven mitts, place a plate over the top of the pan and carefully invert to release the tarte from the pan. There will be apples left behind in the pan, and empty spots in the crust. Using a spatula, lift the apples into the empty spots.
- There will also be some caramel left behind in the pan. Place the pan into the still-hot oven to loosen it up, then scrape it from the pan overtop of the tarte.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
