Description
Julia Child’s tarte tatin celebrates French culinary elegance with caramelized apples nestled in flaky pastry. Delicate layers of sweet fruit and buttery crust create a rustic dessert that transports you to Normandy’s charming orchards.
Ingredients
Scale
- 5 lbs (2.27 kg) apples (Golden Delicious, Fuji, Jonagold, or Northern Spy), peeled, halved, cored
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
- 1 stick plus 2 tbsps (141 g) unsalted butter, cut into thin slices
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
- 3 tbsps (45 ml) ice water
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- Pastry Preparation: Blend flour and salt in a food processor. Pulse cold butter until crumbly, then gradually mix in ice water until the dough resembles damp sand.
- Dough Resting: Knead dough briefly, shape into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 hour to relax gluten and firm butter.
- Caramel Foundation: In a cast-iron skillet, distribute sugar evenly, arrange butter slices, and drizzle vanilla extract across the bottom.
- Apple Arrangement: Carefully position apple halves in two tight, concentric circles within the skillet. Slowly cook over low heat for 45-60 minutes, occasionally basting until the syrup transforms into a rich, golden caramel.
- Initial Baking: Preheat oven to 425°F. Transfer skillet to a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, allowing the caramel to intensify and bubble.
- Pastry Covering: Retrieve chilled dough, roll out, and gently drape over caramelized apples, pressing edges inside the skillet to create a perfect seal.
- Final Baking: Return skillet to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry turns golden-brown and juices bubble vigorously.
- Presentation: Immediately invert the tart onto a serving platter while hot, allowing the caramelized apple pattern to be dramatically revealed. Let cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- Chill Dough Strategically: Refrigerate pastry for exactly 1 hour to ensure optimal gluten relaxation and butter solidification, critical for flaky texture.
- Master Caramelization Technique: Low and slow cooking is essential – 45-60 minutes allows sugar to transform without burning, creating rich golden caramel.
- Handle Hot Skillet Carefully: Use protective oven mitts during entire process, especially when inverting hot tart to prevent potential burns or accidents.
- Serve Immediately After Inverting: Quick serving preserves crisp pastry and prevents soggy bottom, maintaining the tart’s delicate structural integrity.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 500
- Sugar: 38 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 18 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 57 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg