Pie Tatin
8 servings
120 minutes
Tarte Tatin is a classic French dessert shrouded in the legend of its accidental creation. The story goes that the Tatin sisters, who owned a hotel in Lamotte-Beuvron, once forgot to place the dough in the apple pie and baked it 'upside down.' This caramelized apple pie became a gastronomic masterpiece. Its taste is a perfect balance of tender pastry and sweet-caramel apples with a hint of tartness. Warm and aromatic, it is served upside down, preserving the richness of caramel and juiciness of fruits. Its uniqueness lies in being made in one pan where apples are caramelized and then covered with a crispy crust. It is served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of cream that enhances its harmony of flavors. This dessert has become a symbol of French cuisine, and its unique texture makes every bite truly magical.
1
Prepare shortcrust pastry. Melt 100 grams of butter in a water bath, stirring with a whisk. Let it cool, add salt, and mix. Then add 75 grams of sugar and mix again. While stirring, gradually add flour. Once the dough starts to form, set aside the whisk and mix with a wooden spatula. Add baking powder.
- Butter: 200 g
- Salt: 1 g
- Sugar: 275 g
- Wheat flour: 220 g
- Baking powder: 2 g
2
Crack an egg into a bowl, whisk it with a fork, and add it to the dough. Mix the dough until it forms a large homogeneous ball. Shape it into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour.
- Chicken egg: 1 piece
3
Prepare caramel. For this, heat 200 grams of sugar in a cast-iron pot (see note) over high heat. Once the sugar starts to turn golden, stir it with a wooden spatula and add the remaining butter. Stir until the butter melts and the mixture becomes homogeneous. Remove the pot from the heat.
- Sugar: 275 g
- Butter: 200 g
4
Preheat the oven to 150–160 degrees. Peel the apples, remove the cores. Cut each apple in half lengthwise. Place the apples vertically in a circle in a cast-iron pot with the prepared caramel, filling the bottom tightly. Put the pot in the oven for an hour. After an hour, check the readiness with a knife (they should be soft enough but not falling apart when pierced). Let the apples cool, then refrigerate for an hour.
- Apple: 1.2 kg
5
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Place the dough on parchment and lightly sprinkle with flour. Roll the dough into a round sheet 3 mm thick. Place the lid of the cast iron pot used for cooking apples on the rolled-out dough, with the inner side down, and press lightly. Remove the lid and carefully cut the dough along the circle left by the lid. Remove excess dough. Prick the entire surface of the dough with a fork.
- Wheat flour: 220 g
6
Cut the parchment in a circle, leaving 1 cm from the edge of the dough. Transfer the parchment with the dough to a baking sheet and place it in a preheated oven for 10 minutes. Place the baked cake on a rack and let it harden and cool.
7
Before serving, take the pot with apples out of the fridge and warm it slightly on the stove. Cover the apples with the prepared crust (it should fit easily in the pot). To detach the apples from the pot's walls, hold the crust with your hand and gently turn the pot. Cover the pot with an inverted plate, flip it over, and remove. The pie is ready.