According to legend, the invention of this strange tart, which is baked upside down, is associated with a chance. Tart Tatin was created in the 19th century in France, in the kitchen of the Tatin Sisters’ restaurant. One of the sisters forgot to paste in the dough in an apple pie and added it later in the baking process. According to the second version, the tart turned over when taking out of the oven and it had to be served upright. These are just legends, in fact the tradition of baking upturned apple or pear cakes even existed earlier in Solon region, 200 kilometers from Paris. The recipe was passed over verbally from mother to daughter for centuries. Thanks to the Tatin Sisters’ Hotel-Restaurant, the cake became famous and still remains a source of inspiration for confectioners.
Everything genial is simple - this can be really said about Tart Tatin. With the very simple ingredients that we all find at home, we can get an amazing, unique taste, with caramelized apples and the crispest dough.
Dough (pâte sablée)
Caramel
Melt the butter on a steam bath, add a pinch of salt, cool slightly and mix with powdered sugar, whisk, add flour + baking powder and stir with a wooden spoon. Add 1 lightly beaten egg, transfer the mass on the table and knead a homogeneous dough, wrap in a kitchen wrapping paper and store in a fridge for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
For baking we will need a cast-iron pan or a saucepan, on which we also prepare dry caramel. If you do not have a cast-iron pan, prepare the caramel in a regular saucepan, pour it into a baking tin (it is preferably that the sides do not open or wrap it in foil) and continue making the cake there.
Cut the butter into cubes and leave at room temperature. Heat the pan, add sugar and wait for it to melt, do not stir. When the sugar melts and starts to boil, stir with a wooden spoon, bring the caramel to the desired color and add the butter cubes. Remove from the heat and stir well with a whip so that the butter dissolves well.
Choose apples of equal size, remove the core, peel and cut into 4 parts. Arrange on the caramel on the rounded side, try not to leave empty spaces, it is possible to stack it in 2 layers, if a saucepan is small. Bake for 40 minutes.
Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it with flour to the size of a pan or a saucepan in which you bake the tart. Pierce the dough with a fork, take the pan out of the oven with the apples, cover with dough and fold the sides. Raise the temperature to 200 degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the dough is browned.
Transfer the baked tart to a hot tray or plate - put the plate an on the pan, hold it tightly on both sides and turn it over. Serve Tart Tatin with warm, whipped cream or ice cream.
Nino Megrelidze
60+ Min
Average
201-500 Kcal
