Apple Tarte Tatin

Soft, delicious caramel apples on a base of flaky puff pasty make this four ingredient French dessert one you simply can't resist!

I don't know about you, but it seems I'm spending a lot more time in the kitchen feeding everyone while we're in lockdown. I've had to revisit a lot of old, quick and easy recipes to cope with their demand for food. One of them is my delicious Apple Tarte Tatin recipe which I thought you might like to bake yourself.

This French dessert recipe requires only four simple ingredients, and hopefully you've got them on hand at the moment - apples, caster sugar, butter and a sheet of frozen pastry.  You can swap out the apples for pears, peaches, quinces or nectarines, basically any fruit that will hold its shape will work in this recipe.

Granny Smith apples are the best apples for this tart because they retain their shape and they don't go mushy when cooked in the caramel sauce, but I have had success with a few other varieties as well - Red Galas and Golden Delicious.

We have two very proficient Granny Smith apple trees in our backyard, and I try and find the largest apples for this recipe so there's lovely big chunks in every slice. You can cut them all uniform and arrange them in a pretty pattern, but I peel, core and cut them into quarters and then slice smaller pieces to fill in any gaps - basically jam in as many as you can!

The caramel is the trickiest part of the whole recipe, and you're looking for that gorgeous rusty golden brown colour before adding and coating the apples. Make sure you stir the caramel throughout the whole process because it's easy to burn you don't want that bitter flavor in your tart. And please, don't forget this caramel is hot - take real care when adding and coating the apples and arranging the pastry, and watch your fingers.

Once you lay the pastry on top, you'll need to push the edges down the sides and under the apples, like wrapping it in a blanket. Use a spoon or a flat knife to ease the pastry into place to prevent any accidents or burns.

Once your Apple Tarte Tatin is baked and you remove it from the oven, you'll notice the pastry has puffed nicely and the caramel is bubbling away around the sides. Leave it to cool for no more than ten minutes before trying to invert the tart - I start trying at about eight minutes.

Gently run a knife around the pan and then spread out the fingers on one hand, lay it on top of the pastry and try and spin the tart a few inches to make sure nothing is sticking. Pop a plate over the top and carefully invert the tart for serving.

If it does stick and you can't spin the tart in the pan, pop it back in the oven for a few minutes to reheat the caramel and then try again. If you invert the tart and something has stuck, then just smoosh it back into the tart and no one will notice :)

You can serve the Apple Tarte Tatin either warm or cold, and it's delicious with a scoop of ice cream or a quenelle of whipped cream. It makes a quick and easy dessert, but we also enjoy it for morning or afternoon tea with a cup of coffee.

This is one of my favorite recipes to make, and it's a great way to use up the last of the apples from our trees. If you would like to try my Apple Tarte Tatin recipe you can download the recipe card by clicking the link or right click on the photo below and save it to your computer:

I hope you enjoy this simple and delicious dessert recipe. It's a great one to have in the files and you'll be able to add a little bit of French cuisine to your dinner table. Enjoy!

Happy baking :)