Being someone who grew up Greek in Canada, I was taught to celebrate my Greekness without belittling or diminishing anyone else’s culture in the process. My parents came here (Canada) as immigrants and we as Greeks wave our flag but we also enjoy the culture, company and foods of other peoples.
Canada is an officially bilingual nation – French and English. I have enjoyed the regional Quebec cuisine and the homeland French cooking from continental Europe. I prefer the rustic French dishes and I’m particularly fond of Provence and it’s food as it reminds me much of Greek cooking.
One French classic that I recently sought to re-create is the tarte tatin. Last year I made a plum tarte tatin and I enjoyed the dessert alot. This time I took a stab at the classic which uses apples.
Tarte Tatin is the famous upside-down tart that’s caramelized with sugar, water and butter. It was created by two French sisters in what could be France’s most famous kitchen mistake gone wonderfully well!
There are many variations on the original dish which originated in the humble home kitchen but it’s popularity has taken it to the kitchens of most great restaurants.
The tarte should be served warm or at room temperature. If prepared ahead of time, keep in the the cast-iron skillet and just before serving time, place in a hot oven and and re-heat.
Finally, I brushed some heated and strained apricot preserves over a cooled tarte and served it with some cinnamon ice cream. This dessert is simple, an eye-catching treat that will make your family, friends and guests feel right at home or…at a bed & breakfast in Sologne.
Apple Tarte Tatin
approx. 1 1/2 lbs. of firm, slightly tart apples (I used Royal Gala)
2/3 cup of regular sugar
3oz. of unsalted butter
apricot jam
puff pastry, thawed overnight in the fridge
large cast-iron skillet
lemon juice
water
Pre-heated 400F oven 
- Peel the apples, core and cut into thick wedges (I used an apple slicer) and place in a bowl with enough water to cover them and the juice of about 1/ lemon. Treat your cast iron skillet with room temperature butter.
- In a small pot, add the sugar and 3 Tbsp. of water and caramelize over medium-low heat. Once the syrup has turned to a copper colour, add your butter and swirl the pan to mix and take off the heat and pour the caramel into your cast-iron skillet.
- Take the apples out of the water & lemon bath and quickly drain. Now quickly place the apples wedges in the skillet, so that they are squeezed tightly together. (You want to do this step quickly so that as not to allow the caramel to harden too quickly)
- Now place the skillet on a baking sheet (avoid any dripping caramel in oven) in your pre-heated oven (middle rack) and bake for 40-45 minutes. Take the tarte out of the oven and allow the apples to cool a bit. Once cooled, place the puff pastry on top and trim any excess pastry off. Place the tarte once again in a pre-heated oven and bake for another 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool. In the meantime, add some apricot jam to a small pot and bring to a boil. Take off the heat and pass through a metal sieve to remove any chunks of fruit. Place the strained jam back in the pot and keep warm.
- As soon as your tarte has cooled, place the serving dish on top of the tarte and carefully flip over, so that the apples are facing up. Now brush the apricot jam on the apples to give your tarte an added glaze and another dimension to it’s flavour.
- Serve a wedge to each person with some of Holler’s cinnamon ice cream on the side.
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© 2007-2009 Peter Minakis
62 Responses
Wow, your apple tart tatin is gorgeous! I love all those delicious looking apples!
I LOVE this Peter! Absolutely delicious!
What a showstopper! Seriously, that tartin looks perfect. I’m drooling over here with my coffee and wishing I had a slice! :P
That is beautiful! I have to say that for taste I prefer my tarte tatin with a shortcrust pastry rather than puff.
What a beauty! You Tarte Tatin looks mighty delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
You could win a prize for that tart! It looks really good Peter!!
I love the way you arranged the apples! It is way more impressive than just fanning them out.
This is one of my favourit tarts, i love these and yours look so so yummy delicious.
I have never made them home as i don’t have a tart tatin pan.
Dear Peter, I hope you are not too mad at me ;D. I haven’t been around for a while, but the smell of your tarta de Manzana arrived to Spain! Mmmmm what a lovely sight :D
Are you becoming sweeter now? That first shot is shouting for a bite :D
Yours looks like perfection! Wish I were there for a slice ;-)
This crust, lots of fruit….yip, just the way I like it!!!!
Wow Peter – this looks absolutely perfect. YUM!
needless to say – scrumptious!
I love French Cuisine. Can you believe that I never made Tarte Tatin yet Peter. I usually make apple pie instead. Love yours.
That’s a beautiful dessert Peter! Love it.
I’ve done the plum one too, but never the apple. Yours looks perfect, as always!
This turned out so beautifully. I think the reason I haven’t tried one before is that most of the others I’ve seen are caramelized beyond recognition. I think you’ve inspired me to give it a try. Finally!
beautiful tart and beautiful photos -your pictures get better and better. I’ve yet to try my hand at this.
This is beautiful – move over, grnadma’s pineapple upside-down cake!
This is gorgeous!
Nice to see you are making desserts : )
I can’t come look at your blog too often Peter… I get soooo hungry every time I visit ;) This looks delicious! Yum!
It doesn’t matter who makes it…we love it all the same. Hoooray for tarte tatin!
Fantastic pictures Peter. I have some puff pastry in the freezer and I just might try this gorgeous dessert.
Love the way it looks. Simply gorgeous!!
This really makes me miss apple season in Indiana. Maybe in 6 months we will have apple picking season (have to get out of 30 degree mornings first).
How lovely, Peter.
I’m also a fan of the tart tatin… bet this is glorious.
Peter you really have a gift with baking. This looks soo good to me right now.I love apple desserts all year round.
After a very tiring day I am going to bed now. I am sure I will be dreaming of your tarte tatin.
I have made the plum tatin several times but I know my husband would love the apple one much more. It’s gorgeous as well!
The original upside down cake!
I did this instead of apple pie one year at Thanksgiving. I think it tastes wonderful and so much less fuss.
I have always loved this dish Peter. The apples caramelize and become even tastier if that is possible:D
…and today I started a diet. Thanks a lot for reminding me of things I will be missing for a while!
Your tarte tatin looks amazing. You never cease to impress me, my friend.
ahhh. those pictures are making drool so much i’m dehydrated!!! i love apples in desserts – any dessert!
FABULOUS dessert Peter. I am loving it all!
Oh that is so beautifully done! I can imagine getting it at my favorite French bistro in San Francisco.
Sounds like you really enjoy the melting pot of cultures available to you where you live! It’s great to be able to celebrate your roots as well as your whereabouts, too! This apple dessert is gorgeous! I would never have guessed that you didn’t place the apples in a pattern! YUM!
Peter, that is absolutely gorgeous! It would be delicious anytime, but right now I’m thinking breakfast…
Peter goes French- love it. This dessert is tempting me to do things that I shouldn’t be doing. YUMMMM! Delicious photos!
Apple desserts are my favoutites and your tartin is really … yummi!!!
i’m sure glad you’re not intolerant of other cultures, because this tarte is gorgeous. bravo!
Super nice,Peter. These are tricky, but your apples look cooked perfectly and the crust nice and flaky.
Superbe! Une pure réussite parfaitement caramélisée.
For me, the best french dessert ever…!!!
I am drooling and serving it with cinnamon ice cream puts over the top! Beautiful presentation! I know this has to be crazy delicious!
What a wonderful and delicious looking tarte tatin Peter.
Cheers,
elra
Beautiful tarte tatin.
Your pictures show up before the words, and you have no idea how hungry I became while looking at these luscious photos while waiting for your verbiage!
I’ve just bought a cast iron skillet for this very recipe. Yours looks amazing!
*Gasp* that looks beyond amazing!
Love it. Caramel, apples, and some delicious apricot preserves. I may be inspired to brave the tarte tatin at last!
That looks absolutely delicious! I’m impressed with your skills of making it so neat :)
looks excellent. appletastic, in fact. the colors are perfect.
This looks amazing. Apple desserts are my favorite. I can’t wait to try this, looks like it might be a challenge. :)
I don’t know where to look first – the fantastic new look or the fantastic tart! That is my favorite dessert, bar none. Want it now.
Well the tarte looks fabulous of course but that new logo up there… My oh my… How awesome is that? ;)
My record with tarte tatin? Tarte 2, me 0. One time I unmolded it onto half of the plate (don’t ask about the other half). The other time I unmolded onto the stovetop, without benefit of the plate underneath. No more tarte tatin for me!
Oh my…. this looks so delicious!
Tarte Tatin is such a yummy dessert to make and yours looks nice and thick Peter!The cinnamon ice cream is a good touch.
Looks perfect and densely packed with apples. I like how they turned out almost translucent.
beautiful tarte, Peter!! The cinnamon ice cream must be amazing with the apples!
Your apple tarte tatin looks so delicious!!! MMMMMMMMMM…Peter!