This classic French upside-down caramel apple tart is easier to make than it looks. The trick is to cook the caramel and apples in a larger 12-inch skillet or pan and then carefully arrange the apples into a smaller 9, 10 or 11-inch pan before baking it. The large skillet or pan allows you to cook more apples, which shrink down and create a picture-perfect Tarte Tatin that will have all your friends and loved ones super impressed.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, French
Keyword apple, caramel, tart
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 35 minutesminutes
Rest Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 8
Calories 343kcal
Author Irvin
Ingredients
Pie crust
1 1/4cupall-purpose flour 175 g
1/2teaspoonkosher salt
1/2cupcold unsalted butter115 g or 1 stick
5 to 7tablespoonsice cold water
Filling
3 1/4 to 3 1/2poundsapplesroughly 8 to 10-medium sized ones
2tablespoonsapple cider vinegar
4tablespoonscold unsalted butter57 g
3/4cupwhite sugar150 g
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1/2teaspoonkosher salt
Instructions
Make the Pie Crust
Make the pie crust by placing the flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and sprinkle them over the flour. Toss the butter with your hands to coat them with flour, then use your fingers to smash the butter into flat small pieces, roughly the size of peas.
Drizzle 5 tablespoons of water over the mixture and toss with a fork. Use your hand to massage the dough, until all the water is absorbed and evenly distributed, and a cohesive dough has formed. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if the dough seems too dry and isn’t forming properly. Gather the dough into a single ball, then flatten it into a 1-inch thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Make the Caramel and Apple Filling
Make the filling by peeling an apple and then cutting it into 3 wedges, discarding the core. The larger size chunks of apples will look best for the tarte tatin. Repeat with the remaining apple, placing the pieces in a large bowl. Sprinkle with apple cider vinegar and toss to prevent them from browning.
Cut the cold butter into 1/2-inch chunks and set next to the stove. Sprinkle the sugar into a large 12-inch skillet (preferably one with a silver or light-colored bottom if you have never cooked caramel before). Cook the sugar on high heat, until it starts to melt, then reduce the heat to medium low. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until all the sugar has melted and started to turn golden brown.
Once the sugar is a golden brown, remove from heat and add the cold butter carefully. It will steam and sputter, and the caramel might seize up and harden. Don’t worry about this. Just stir the butter into the hot caramel as much as you can.Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Move the pan back to the burner. Add the apples to the pan and cook them on medium low heat, stirring as best you can. The caramel will be hard and chunky but as the apples start to exude liquid as the pan heats up again, the caramel will loosen and dissolve back into a liquid. Continue to cook the apples until they have started to soften slightly, the edges of the apples have turned slightly translucent, and the caramel has liquified again, about 10 minutes or so. Remember, the apples will continue to cook in the oven so no need to cook completely on the stove. Remove the pan from the heat.
Arrange the Tart and Bake
Take a 9, 10 or 11-inch oven-proof skillet or pie pan and carefully arrange the apples, round side down in concentric circles. I like to pick the biggest apple slices and use those around the edge of the pan, working my way in with smaller apple slices. “Shingle” the apples so they overlap about 1/3 of the way if you can. This allows you to fit in more apples into the pan, as well as accommodates for when the apples shrink more in the baking. Use as many apples as you can fit in, but don’t stress too much if you can’t use all the apples. Save the remaining caramelized apples for another use, like topping on yogurt or ice cream, or just snacking on them.
Whisk in the vanilla and salt into the remaining caramel in the large 12-inch skillet that you cooked the apples in. Then scrape and pour the caramel over the apples.
Take the chilled dough from the fridge and roll it out on a clean, lightly floured surface into a 10 to 12-inch circle. Roll it out roughly an inch larger than the skillet pan you are using.
Fold the pie crust in half, then in half again, making it look like a quarter pie wedge. Place the crust over the apples and unfold.
Tuck the edges of the pie crust into into the side of the pan.
Cut a few steam vents into to the crust. Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any spillage and to help move the pan in and out of the oven) and bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the crust looks golden brown and juices are bubbling out of the steam vents. A smaller 9-inch skillet will be closer to 25 to 30 minutes, while a larger 10-inch skillet will be closer to 30 to 35 minutes.Let the tarte tatin rest and cool on a wire rack for 30 to 45 minutes. Then place a serving platter or cake stand upside down on it and carefully invert the pan. The tarte tatin should easily release onto the platter. If any apples stick to the pan, just carefully loosen and replace them back onto the tarte tatin. Serve warm as is, or with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.