Tarte Tatin
(tart tah-TAN)
Chapter 5 — Desserts & Café
A ten-inch cast-iron skillet begins the definitive brasserie Tarte Tatin. The secret to that translucent, candy-like apple you remember eating at a corner table on Spring Street isn't a shortcut; you bathe firm apples in an 83-percent cultured butter caramel, pack them tight, and force them to chill overnight in the pan. This sets the fruit's natural pectin and solidifies the sugar, guaranteeing that when topped with cold puff pastry the next day, you achieve a shatteringly crisp crust over immaculate, jammy fruit. Yes, it takes two days. Yes, this is exactly what Spring Street tastes like. Watch the pan edges until the dark caramel hisses, ready a flat plate, and do not hesitate on the flip.
Ingredients
- firm-fleshed apples (Braeburn, Pink Lady, or Northern Spy)8 large
- high-fat cultured French butter6 tbsp
- granulated white sugar3/4 cup
- vanilla bean1/2
- premium all-butter puff pastry sheet1
Method
- 01
Melt the sugar into a dry, dark amber caramel.
Set a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat and sprinkle a fine, even layer of sugar across the bottom, gradually adding the rest as it melts and swirling the pan without stirring until it hits a deep amber color around 350 degrees.
- 02
Emulsify the cultured butter and vanilla into the caramel.
Remove the skillet from the heat and carefully whisk in the cubed butter and scraped vanilla bean seeds until the furiously bubbling mixture subsides into a smooth, rich toffee sauce.
- 03
Pack the apple quarters aggressively tight into the hot caramel.
Arrange the apples on their rounded sides, forming a tight, concentric circle around the outer edge and filling the center. They will shrink by 30 percent as they cook, so squeeze them in until you fear they will burst from the pan.
- 04
Simmer the apples gently to release their juices.
Return the skillet to medium-low heat and let the apples simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, basting the tops with the boiling caramel until the bottoms begin to soften and turn translucent. If American supermarket apples release too much water, carefully remove them and boil the liquid down to a syrup before returning them to the pan.
- 05
Chill the skillet in the refrigerator overnight to set the pectin.
Remove from the heat, cool to room temperature, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. This mandatory overnight rest sets the natural pectin so the apples hold their shape, and it solidifies the caramel to protect your pastry from melting the next day.
- 06
Drape the cold puff pastry over the chilled apples.
The next day, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Uncover the skillet and quickly drape the chilled pastry circle over the hardened apples, tucking the edges down inside the lip of the pan to form a retaining wall, then prick the top all over with a fork.
- 07
Bake until the pastry is dramatically puffed and deeply browned.
Bake in the center of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes. If the pastry is pale, keep going; pale pastry will be soggy, and you want a shatteringly crisp texture.
- 08
Rest the tart for exactly five to ten minutes before the inversion.
Remove from the oven and let the molten lava caramel subside on a wire rack. Place a large, flat serving platter upside down over the skillet, put on thick oven mitts, and in one swift, decisive motion, flip the tart. If a stray apple sticks to the cast iron, gently press it back into its rightful place and serve warm.
Notes
Use a cast iron skillet, never a springform pan.
A heavy 10-inch cast iron skillet holds the necessary heat for stovetop caramelization and won't leak. A springform pan will dump boiling caramel onto your oven floor, creating a catastrophic fire hazard.
Source premium all-butter puff pastry.
Check the label on your frozen puff pastry. If it contains shortening or hydrogenated oils instead of butter, it will leave a greasy film in the mouth and ruin the premium cultured butter you invested in for the caramel.