apple tart tatin

Carmen, who you know from Yerbabuena en la Cocina , brings us a classic French pastry that has become popular all over the world. As she says, tarte tatin is the queen of apple tarts. Delicate, rich in flavour and, contrary to what it may seem, very easy to prepare!

The time has finally come to publish what is for me the queen of apple tarts, the Tatin, a very easy recipe to make, with few ingredients and with a spectacular and delicious result. It has been present in my house for many years, and although I have tried and published many good apple tarts, in the end I always go back to the same one, because for me the Tatin is incomparable, the best without a doubt… How could such a sublime tart be created from a mistake?

Emile Henry ceramic mould for Tarte Tatin and olive wood board from Bérard

Apples, puff pastry, butter and sugar are the basic ingredients needed to make this tart. Unlike other apple tarts, where I usually use the reineta variety, I recommend using the Golden apple for the Tatin: when baked, it caramelises very well, and the butter gives it a delicious touch that combines perfectly with it and keeps its shape without falling apart.

I definitely encourage you to make it, you won't regret it and of course a wonderful cake like this one deserves to have a ceramic mould from Emile Henry like the one I used, in which you can prepare the whole process of the recipe from caramel to baking, including presentation on the table in the beautiful tray that is included and that makes it easy to unmold. Try to make it and I'm sure that, like in my house, it will become one of your favourite cakes.

Ingredients

• 2 kilos of Golden apples
• 200g sugar
• 100g butter
• 1 sheet of fresh puff pastry
• A few drops of lemon juice

Preparation

1. Put the sugar in the mould with a few drops of lemon juice to prevent it from burning, a few drops of water and the butter cut into pieces. Cook over a low heat without stirring, just carefully moving the mould, until a kind of toffee with a nice golden colour forms. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170º.
3. We wash and peel the apples. We cut them in half and then cut them in half again (i.e. into quarters) and remove the central pips.
4. Once the toffee has cooled, place the apple pieces, placing them side up and slightly tilted, since this is an inverted cake, the pretty side is on the outside. Try to put the pieces together well so that when cooking, even if the fruit shrinks a little, there are no gaps between them.
5. We put it in the oven and cook for about half an hour, depending on the hardness of the apples, or until we notice that they are soft when we touch them.
6. We take the mould out of the oven and place the puff pastry on top, covering it all. With the excess we make a rim on the outside by simply folding it inwards. We put it back in the oven and let it cook until the puff pastry turns golden.
7. We take it out and let it cool for 10 minutes, no more, because if the caramel cools down the apple could stick and lose its shape when we take it out of the mould. Being careful not to burn ourselves, we turn the cake over using the tray as if it were a potato omelette.
8. We serve it on the same tray. Optionally, we can serve it with vanilla ice cream. It's a delicious combination!

Emile Henry ceramic mould for Tarte Tatin

NOTE: To make the tarte tatin you may also be interested in seeing the Le Creuset iron tray for Tarte Tatin (suitable for gas, vitro, induction and oven). Not only will it be useful for making this tart, but the plate will also be useful for serving, and the iron tray is like a cocotte, so you can use it many times, both for roasts and risottos, cakes, etc.