Tatin Dogma

There are dishes I'm always playing with, and then there are a few about which I am a total, heels-dug-in reactionary. Tarte Tatin at my house has not changed since I first got it figured out, thanks to Patricia Wells. I have no plans to chill out on this issue in the future. I do not claim authenticity, but rather hold this of no consequence, because it is all about the charming and tasty end product. I'd be glad to try your tatin, your way, at your house. I've even stuck a fork into a strange, deconstructed restaurant version, featuring a towering stack of pastry squares and poached apple slices in a cage of spun caramel. I probably couldn't recreate the latter if I tried, but anyhow, I emphatically don't want to. I am willing to try all sorts of upside down fruit pastries using other techniques, but this is my one and only apple tatin.

Sometimes my tatin looks pristine and elegant, sometimes ordinary, or even a little dumpy, but it always and reliably delicious. It is comforting food in the extreme, but a treat, rather than everyday fare. It ain't no meatloaf, though it is cosy enough to follow one for dessert. I would rather eat it than the classiest of pastry chef cakes. There is a bit of bother, but no extraordinary skills are needed; it makes the house smell delicious. I'm pretty sure that if someone made it for me, I'd love them forever. Or, for awhile, conditionally at least. This pie, without more, certainly won't make you any enemies.

Though I am not a fan of the Golden Delicious apple for eating out of hand (mealy, icky), I believe it is the perfect apple for this tart. I will not be moved from this position. Should you wish to make this recipe with another apple (and P. Wells herself does so), I will not be responsible. (I will, however, interrupt this screed briefly to advise you that if you do use a different apple, you must use all apples of the same sort, and preferably of more or less the same size. Please believe this, it is all true. In this way, as in several others, the Tarte Tatin differs from a classic American apple pie. If you were making an American As Apple type pie, a mixture of various apples would be, as you probably know, a fine plan. End of sub-screed.)

But I hope I have persuaded you to go with the Golden D, because in cooking, especially in cooking this way, it is transformed-sweet, slightly spicy, soft- yet holding its shape. You will need 8 or 9 of them, 10 ounces of unsalted butter, and 2/3 of a cup of vanilla sugar, or regular sugar and a tablespoon of vanilla. Also, you will need a 10" round of pastry, short or puff, rolled, trimmed and sitting in the fridge nice and flat. You will also need a well-seasoned 9" cast iron pan or other reliably unsticky, heavy pan. An actual tarte tatin pan-copper, with little ears on either side for turning would be splendid. Santa has yet to turn up with one for me, so I use the cast iron. Get out the bulb baster, too.

At some point, you should preheat your oven to 425F. You needn't do this at once, because you are going to cook the apples for at least an hour before the tart goes into the oven. So. Spread the sugar evenly in the bottom of the pan. Cut the butter in thin slices, and distribute them to cover the bottom of the pan, in one layer. Sprinkle with the vanilla, if you are using plain sugar.

Now peel, halve and core your apples. Set them in the pan, with the outside rounded part against the side of the pan, on edge. Once you have closed the circle, make a second circle of halves inside, facing the same way, also on edge, In the space in the center, place one half, curved outside downwards. As you cook these apples on top of the stove, they will shrink, and begin to slide into place. You can nudge them towards their final positions, from time to time, as you cook them, for about an hour, basting frequently, until they are entirely soft and ready to eat. Keep in mind that when they go in the oven, you want them all with the closed curved side down (cause that will be the top in the end), packed tight.

If you make this tart often, you will notice that as the juiciness of the apple varies, the carmel syrup may be more or less thick, or runny. It is best quite thick, so if you see it more liquid than usual, you can sprinkle some more sugar over in the last 15 minutes or so on the stove. As you baste, it will melt into the sauce, and thicken it. Don't do this the first time though- the pastry absorbs some liquid, and you won't be able to judge that until you've seen the whole process a few times. There have to be some advantages with experience, after all. But don't worry- it will be super good even if it is swimming in overly-juicy, messy liquid.

You can more-or-less see the starting arrangement in the lower photo, though I cannot take a decent indoor food picture to save my life. Once the apples are perfectly cooked and arranged in place, take the pastry from the oven and set it over the apples, tucking in the parts that extend beyond the pan rim. Put it in the oven, on a cookie sheet or other drip catcher, and cook 35-40 minutes, or until the pastry is done. Remove from oven and place a large serving platter over the top of the pan. Over the sink, and protecting your hands well, flip the tart over, onto the serving plate. Remove pan. Carefully (they are soft), replace any errant apples, and mop up any particularly goopy, out of place wetness with a damp paper towel. Serve warm or cooled, preferably the same day, but the leftovers, if any are not to be sneezed at.

Comments

[Lynn D.]

I have never made a tart tatin, but I second your recommendation of the Golden D. for baking and cooking. I once saw Jacques Pepin pitch them on tv for this purpose and now I never use anything else.

[lindy]

Lynn- I think J. Pepin may have been my original source on the GD apple, too. I heard him speak last year, and once I adjusted to his still quite heavy accent, found him just as admirable, entertaining, and generous a fellow as I had imagined. Also, he is very, very smart.

[Elizabeth]

Dorrie Greenspan was featured on All Things Considered Friday night making a Tart Tatin with Michele Morris. It's a fun little piece of radio cooking; although it makes it sound like it takes a lot less than an hour to cook those apples initially, so thanks for the heads up. It's always good anticipate how long something like that's gonna take (lest it's past the kids bedtime and they are still asking, "When's dessert?"

The audio clip is found at the top of the page. Link is:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15324538

Thanks for your always enjoyable posts. They are always so nearly as satisfying as the food itself.

[Melissa]

I'm impressed! Tarte tatin is my personal nemesis; I have NEVER successfully made one. Either the apples have burned or they've disintegrated completely or the crust has ended up a soggy mess...

I'm bookmarking this, however, for the day I gather enough courage to attempt it again. Just out of curiosity, where do you fall on the short vs. puff pastry debate?

[lindy]

Elizabeth-Must check this out, as I am a Dorie G fan, bigtime. It may be that her method just takes less time on the stove, mine cooks very slowly, over a very low flame.
Melissa-This way is very easy- just a little time-consuming. I think I prefer a puff pastry with it- but either is fine. (This is my one and only easy-going aspect on this recipe.)

[Julie]

Your picture of the finished tarte tatin looks perfectly delicious.

I've been eyeing a tarte tatin recipe of Anya von Bremzen's and even bought gala apples (her recommendation) in anticipation of making it. But reading this makes me think I should try it first with golden delicious apples. Anything to boost my chances of success.

[Julie]

I'm a bit ashamed to admit that despite cohabiting with my apple-dessert-loving mate for more than 4 years now, I have yet to make a tarte tatin. Now I can see that I simply must.

[Julie]

I'm a bit ashamed to admit that despite cohabiting with my apple-dessert-loving mate for more than 4 years now, I have yet to make a tarte tatin. Now I can see that I simply must.

[Julie]

I'm a bit ashamed to admit that despite cohabiting with my apple-dessert-loving mate for more than 4 years now, I have yet to make a tarte tatin. Now I can see that I simply must.

[the chocolate lady (eve)]

Whadaya talkinabout? Your pictures are beautiful!

[lindy]

Thanks Julie-I'm sure the A.v.B. recipe is excellent- she's wonderful.
The other Julie-I am apple-dessert-loving too, and this is my very favorite.
Eve- thank you, you are very kind. I was actually talikng about my indoor pictures, which are few, and by far the worst of the lot. Usually, I take my food on to the porch to photograph, and I feel like I do okay in natural light- though my neighbors must think I'm bonkers.
But when- as here with the uncooked apples in the pan- I have to do them indoors, with a flash, they go all hinky. I mean-look at that-ugh-jaundiced.

[Tania]

I always thought Tarte Tatin was a very complicated thing to make. In fact, the very idea of attempting one makes me nervous -- possibly because it requires one to make pastry, and something about making pastry turns my hands to lead whenever I try, or possibly because of the flipping involved and the risk that an errant flip would result in my tarte landing at Milo-level. You make it sound so easy, though! Is there a particular pastry you'd recommend using?

[lindy]

Tania-I'm sure you will be able to make excellent pastry- but if you are not in the mood- this is a perfect place to cheat. I do this often with the tatin. Buy some ready-made, good quality puff pastry (Trader Joe's has really nice all-butter ready-made in the freezer area- it is excellent, much better than the rather oily Pepperidge Farm stuff.). And do the inversion (clad in 2 oven mitts)- over a very clean sink. Then, if you lose a few bits, you can capture them, and slide them back into place. They fit back in nicely, and no one will know. Except us, of course.