Foolproof Tarte Tatin Recipe (2024)

You can also make it with a standard crust. Its more about the apples and their caramelization. See Jacques Pepin's recipe for an easier to prepare version, but with similar results.

Struggled for years with varying results for tarte tatin.. sometimes too watery, sometimes burnt. Tried something similar to Julia's method, but instead of refrigerating peeled apples I rolled them in sugar and then dehydrated for about 4 hours in a very slow oven (200). Result has been fine ever since.

I'm surprised at the suggestion of drying the apples. Seems an extra step that's unnecessary. I've followed Julia Child's method from "The Way to Cook" for many years and find it foolproof. I use an iron skillet, slice my apples with an apple corer/slicer contraption, and make sure the the juices have thickened sufficiently (by cooking them slowly at first then rapidly to reduce the liquid, basting all the while) before covering with dough and popping in the oven.

I caramelized the apples in the skillet, covered with a lid for about 12 minutes.
I let the skillet and apples cool and then covered the apples with puff pastry and baked it according to the recipe.
It turned out superb.
Very easy
This is a keeper

I find the plate from my microwave oven is ideal for flipping the tarte. The plate is flat, hefty and the right size.

If I have quartered the apples as directed how do I manage the "button"?

I see many problems with this recipe. I have made this dessert from 6 or 7 different recipes, with varying degrees of success. The most important lesson is: Technique is everything! For a truly foolproof, stunning, AUTHENTIC tarte Tatin, see Daniel Boulud's instructional video on the Panna Cooking website. He uses Honey Crisp apples, a vanilla bean, and breaks the process into steps which explain why each step is critical. Truly worth watching, even if you choose a different recipe in the end.

I didn't have time to let the apples sit for a day or two, so I cooked them in the caramel for longer without the dough on top to evaporate some of the liquid and it worked perfectly.
This might also alleviate the "undercooked" apples people have experienced.
Delicious!!

How about using a basted to get the excess juices out of the pan before flipping the tartin? Reduce them in a small pan and use the reduction as a sauce.

You actually want to make sure the caramelization starts on the stovetop. I successfully cooked it without the crust/dough for about 15 minutes and watched the sugar begin to brown and smell caramelized. Then I added the dough and cooked for a few more minutes so that it settled on top of the apples and then followed the oven instructions.

I've made it lots of times with an old cast iron skillet! For the flipping part, try taking a large plate, a slightly bigger than the skillet, and put it on top of the skillet face-down like a lid. Then get a firm grip with both hands of both the pan and the "lid," with one hand at the pan's handle and the other at the opposite little "assist handle" (I use 2 oven mitts and hold it kind of like a big sandwich), and just turn it over - never a problem. Good luck!

what does it mean the apple slices
stand upright?

Remember the first instruction to chop the bottoms off the apples? That's how the wedges can stand upright.

I'd love to see a quick video of this one.

I ended up reading all the suggestions about getting the apples dried and cooked through. I just watched the heck out of them and made adjustments on the fly. I ended up with the apples perfectly cooked and colored! Everyone was super impressed. BUT, the crust was soggy. Anybody have any thoughts?

Am I using quartered apples, or am I slicing them a bit thinner? Thanks!

Read the notes. Use Julia Childs method.

I learned Tarte Tatin in 1982 from a French chef at a hotel I was working at, it is the most beautiful flavorful Tarte tatin, the trick to the tarte tatin I learned is to cook the apples sugar and butter tightly nestled in the pan until the juices start to thicken, this brings out the pectin, it should be a thick light caramel, you have to rotate the pan a bit. Then let it cool a bit before topping with pastry, I sometimes top mine with almond paste. rest to room temperature, heat and invert

Followed directions except I made a hole in the middle of the puff pastry lid. Came out beautifully. A keeper.

Like others, I skipped drying the apples, and in step 5 I brought my cast iron to a simmer/low boil for 40 minutes without the top crust. The apple juice cooked down and slowly turned light brown for the first 30 minutes. The last 10 min I watched it like a hawk until the sauce had just turned dark brown. Cooled for 10 minutes while it shrank a bit. Added crust, baked 45 min. Reheated after dinner for flipping and presenting. Gorgeous and tasted divine. Making for Thanksgiving for sure!

Great easy recipe for a first time attempt at Tart Tatin. I've read reviews and I seemed to have had a problem not mentioned by others. On the stove, after adding the puff pastry, the pastry ballooned like the foil on Jiffy Pop! I put in the oven, hoping it would collapse a bit, but it didn't. I ended up with a delicious puff pastry "bowl" full of nicely cooked apples. No complaints, and it was very good with a bit of vanilla ice cream.....maybe I inadvertently "sealed" the edges to the pan?

Add some butter and sugar on top of dough to carmelize and make crunchy.

I've tried numerous other tatin recipes and have always been disappointed. Mine turned out great. I made a half recipe using honey crisp and granny smith in a seven inch Lodge cast iron pan. When assembling the puff pastry, I added two vent holes. It cooked at 350 for 45 minutes on a sheet pan for safety sake. There was no overflow. No problem turning it out either. I'm converted.

Foolproof it is NOT!

Failed to mention that the view would be upside down so that when laying out the applels that must be considered. First time making tarte tartine so guidance woulld have been helpful.

This is the second time trying this “foolproof” recipe and so far it did not turn out…first time I cooked the apples on the stove at a high heat and burnt the sugar se I d time I didn’t turn the stove up as high and the apples never caramelized (use 2/2 white sugar and brown). Any suggestions?!?!

The apples were way too watery. I think I will follow the suggestion down thread of dehydrating the apples at 200°F for a couple of hours after rolling them in sugar.

The tarte was beautiful, tasty and a real crowd-pleaser. And Granny Smith apples performed beautifully. BUT - as I was trying this for the first time, it would have been nice to know that during the stove-top cooking part of the recipe, while the caramel is being made, pretty much out of sight, steam from the boiling sugar and butter would blow up the puff pastrty like a balloon. It did settle in the oven, but first I had to adjust shelves of an already preheated oven.

I found this soooo easy and quick to prepare and get in the oven. Reading the comments I wonder if I got lucky with the apples. I did cook on stove top so it was at a vigorous boil and liquid was starting to brown slightly. Used crisp Granny Smith apples. I cooked in convection oven in a cast iron skillet. It was a hit!