Apple Tarte Tatin

Carmen, whom you know from Yerbabuena en la Cocina, brings us a classic of French pastry that has become popular worldwide. As she says, the Tatin tart is the queen of apple tarts. Delicate, flavorful and, contrary to what it may seem, very easy to prepare!

Finally the time has come to publish what for me is the queen of apple tarts, the Tatin, a very easy recipe to make, with few ingredients and a spectacular and delicious result. It has been present in my home for many years, and although I have tried and published many good apple tarts, I always come 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 mold for Tatin Tart and Bérard olivewood board

Apples, puff pastry, butter and sugar are basically the ingredients needed to make this tart. Unlike other apple tarts in which I normally use the reineta variety, for making the Tatin I recommend using Golden apples: when baked they caramelize very well, the butter gives them a delicious touch that pairs perfectly and they keep their shape without falling apart.

Without a doubt I encourage you to make it, you won't regret it and of course a wonderful tart like this deserves to have an Emile Henry ceramic mold like the one I used; in it you can carry out the entire recipe process from the caramel to the baking, including presentation on the beautiful tray that comes included and which makes unmolding easier. Try making it and surely, as in my home, it will become one of your favorite tarts.

Ingredients

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

Preparation

1. Put the sugar in the mold 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 low heat without stirring, only gently moving the mold, until a kind of toffee forms with a beautiful golden tone. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170º.
3. Wash and peel the apples. Cut them in half and then each half in half again (that is, into quarters) and remove the central seed part.
4. Once the toffee has cooled slightly, place the apple pieces with the seed side up and slightly tilted, since being an inverted tart, the pretty side faces outward. Try to fit the pieces closely so that when cooking, even if the fruit shrinks a bit, there are no gaps between them.
5. Put in the oven and cook for around half an hour, depending on the firmness of the apples, or until they feel soft when touched.
6. Take the mold out of the oven and place the puff pastry over everything, using the excess to make an outer rim simply by folding it inward. Put back in the oven and let bake until the pastry is golden.
7. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes, no more, since if the caramel cools the apple could stick and lose its shape when unmolding. Carefully to avoid burning yourself, turn the tart over using the tray as if it were a potato omelette.
8. Serve on the same tray. Optionally, you can accompany it with vanilla ice cream — it's a delicious combination!

Emile Henry ceramic mold for Tatin Tart

NOTE: To make the Tatin tart you might also be interested in seeing the Le Creuset cast-iron tray for Tatin Tart (suitable for gas, ceramic cooktops, induction, and oven). Not only will it help you make this tart, but the dish also works for serving, and the cast-iron tray is like a casserole, so you can get a lot of use out of it, for roasts, risottos, tarts, etc.