Tarte tatin
Photo: Joanbanjo · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

The dish was reportedly invented by the Tatin sisters at their hotel-restaurant in Lamotte-Beuvron in 1898, when Stéphanie Tatin tipped a forgotten apple pan upside-down and discovered the caramelised result was better than the planned tart. The Parisian uptake came through Curnonsky, the food critic who featured the dish at his Larue restaurant near the Madeleine in 1926. By the 1950s, every Paris bistro had the tarte tatin on the dessert list. Le Bon Georges in the 9e is the editorial benchmark today: a 12-hour rest on the apples, served warm with crème fraîche in winter, with vanilla ice cream in summer.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 30 minTotal 1 hr 15 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 8 medium firm-flesh apples (Granny Smith or Reinette), peeled, cored, halved
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 100g unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 vanilla pod, split
  • 1 sheet pure-butter puff pastry, 25cm round, cold
  • Crème fraîche to serve

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  2. Scatter the sugar over the base of a 24cm heavy ovenproof frying pan or tatin dish. Cook over medium heat without stirring until the sugar melts and turns deep amber.
  3. Off the heat, scatter the butter cubes and the scraped vanilla seeds and pod across the caramel.
  4. Arrange the apple halves rounded-side-down in tight concentric circles in the caramel. Pack them in firmly; they shrink.
  5. Return to medium heat and cook for 20 minutes, basting the apples with the caramel that bubbles up, until the apples are tender and a deep mahogany colour.
  6. Lay the puff pastry over the apples, tuck the edges down inside the pan. Cut three steam slits.
  7. Bake for 25 minutes until the pastry is deep golden. Rest the tart in the pan for 5 minutes.
  8. Run a knife around the edge, place a serving plate face-down on top, and invert in one decisive movement. Serve warm with a spoonful of crème fraîche.

Tip from the editors. If the caramel hardens during cooking, slide the pan back on a low heat to remelt before inverting; cold caramel leaves apples stuck in the pan.

Where to eat tarte tatin

Tarte tatin in Paris

Le Bon Georges ★ 4.4

€€ French Bistro9e

Le Bon Georges in Paris's 9e cooks farmer-named meat and a tarte tatin worth ordering before the main: the kitchen prep includes a 12-hour rest on the apples.

OrderCôte de bœuf for two from a named Limousin farm, tarte tatin with crème fraîche.

TipThe wine list is small but well-chosen; ask the waiter rather than the sommelier.

Directions

Polidor ★ 3.9

€€ French Bistro6e

Polidor in Paris has run a Latin-Quarter bistro at the same address since 1845. The carte still holds bœuf bourguignon, blanquette de veau, tarte tatin.

OrderBœuf bourguignon in winter, tarte tatin with crème fraîche, a pichet of red.

TipCash preferred. The shared tables are part of the experience; come at 19:30 to share with strangers.

Directions Book

Bistrot Paul Bert ★ 4.4

€€ French Bistro11e

Bistrot Paul Bert is Paris's textbook bistro: zinc bar, chalkboard menu, steak frites cooked rare with hand-cut fries, île flottante for two on a single.

OrderSteak frites cooked saignant, île flottante for two, a pichet of house red.

TipClosed Sunday and Monday. Book two weeks ahead for a weeknight or take the 19:30 first seating.

Directions

Chez Georges ★ 4.3

€€€ French Bistro2e

Chez Georges has run the same Paris bistro menu since 1964: sole meunière, oeufs en gelée, profiteroles. Located in 2E. Kitchen leans french bistro.

OrderSole meunière, gratin dauphinois, profiteroles to finish.

TipClosed weekends and August. Tables turn twice; book 19:30 or 21:30 a fortnight out.

Directions

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