- Hey guys.
Today I'm gonna share with you one of my favorite recipes
for a classic French dessert, an apple tart tatin.
Now tart tatin is a recipe
that has been around in France for centuries.
And when I was back there this summer,
there was lots of lively debate about
what made a great tart tatin.
So I thought, you know what,
it's time to really get to this classic.
So now that apples are in season,
it's the perfect time to try it out.
Let me show you how to make it.
The first thing you want to do
before you set out on this recipe
is to make sure that you have an oven-safe skillet.
So you'll know that your skillet is oven-safe
if it has a metal handle.
If it has a plastic handle,
you really don't want to put that
in the oven 'cause it could melt.
So look for a skillet that has a metal handle.
The other thing you want to make sure
is that you're working with a skillet that is non-stick,
and I can't stress this enough.
We are going to flip this tart and reverse it,
and if you have a skillet that is not non-stick,
it's going to stick to the pan and create a big mess.
So word to the wise: make sure you
have a nice non-stick skillet.
Then you can set that aside, and we're going
to get to work on making our pastry dough.
Now, here's the thing with tart tatin.
You have seen it probably made with puff pastry.
You have probably seen it made with pie dough.
This year when I was in France,
I had an opportunity to go to
the Museum of Ancient Kitchen Tools.
I know. Doesn't that sound dry?
But I'm telling you it was the most fascinating visit.
It was a rainy day, so I dragged my whole family out there,
and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
They had a whole room devoted to tart tatin
and the history and the making.
One of the things that they said is that
traditionally tart tatin is made with pastry dough.
You can do puff pastry but it's not authentic,
so go with the pie crust.
In a large bowl we are going to combine
two and a quarter cups of flour
just regular, all-purpose flour,
two tablespoons of sugar,
and a teaspoon and a half of salt.
You can just whisk that up and set it aside,
and then we're going to take out
a cup of very cold, unsalted butter.
Cut it into a nice diced cube.
Then add it to the flour mixture and
start to work it in with your hands.
Just making sure that
all that flour and butter is incorporated.
That's the nice thing about this dough.
It's such a rustic tart that you don't need
a food processor to make it.
We're going to do it just like grandma did
about two centuries ago.
Just with our hands.
Then we're going to add
half a cup of very cold ice water.
I like to measure out the water first,
making sure I have a half a cup
then throw some ice cubes in
just to make sure it's nice and cold.
And you're slowly going to drizzle the water in,
just stirring the flour mixture until a nice dough develops.
Then you can turn it out onto a floured surface.
Just roll it out quickly.
Take the pan that I'm going to use for the tart.
Put it upside down.
And then draw a big circle around it, leaving a border.
That way we can know that our dough
is gonna to fit into our pan.
Then you can take a rolling pin.
Take the dough, drape it over the side,
transfer it to a parchment-lined cookie sheet
and pop that in the fridge until
we're ready to work with it.
Now we're ready for the apples.
So, there's a lot of different apples
you can use for this recipe.
I really like to use the Gala apples.
I find that they're sweet,
and they caramelize really well.
If you can't find Gala,
you could use a Granny Smith or Golden Delicious
would also be good.
Now, here is another tip for you
when it comes to making a traditional tart tatin
or so I'm told.
To leave the skins on.
I know a lot of recipes say to remove the skins,
but what I found through the research is that
the traditional tart tatin actually kept the skins on
because the skins are full of pectin.
Pectin, if you've ever made jam,
is what actually creates that jelly-like consistency.
So when that pectin combines with the caramel,
it creates a really sticky, ooey-gooey caramelization,
which is what you want.
As the society progressed and we started putting more
pesticides on our fruits and vegetables,
people were told to peel the apples.
But if it bothers you, you can peel the apples
or even buy organic apples.
Then we're going to core these apples
by just taking a knife and slicing through the center,
and then our apples are ready to go.
I like to have these apples prepped and ready to go
so that when the caramel is ready, the apples are ready.
There's nothing worse than burnt caramel,
so you want to make sure all those apples are good to go.
Then in our skillet, we're going to take butter
and mix a cup of white sugar.
Go ahead and just put that on medium-high
until that butter melts
and starts to combine with the sugar.
You will see it will start to bubble,
it'll become translucent,
and once it starts to caramelize,
that's when you can start to swirl the pan around.
And you want to swirl the pan around
to keep that caramel sort of evenly distributed
and to prevent it from burning.
You can turn down the flame a little bit,
and then we're going to add our apples.
So we're going to take our apples,
put them in the caramel, skin side down,
and just work our way around
all the way around the side
just to create a nice ring of apples.
You want to make sure those apples are nice and snug,
and then when you get to the center, you can take two apples
and put them opposite each other.
And then fill in with little apple stripes on either side.
Let this mixture simmer on our stove top
for about 15 to 17 minutes.
Just until the apples are softened.
Then we're going to remove the pan from the flame
and let it cool for about five minutes.
Then we're going to take our dough
and drape it back over our rolling pin.
Then we're going to place it on top of the skillet.
And working very quickly because you don't
want that dough to warm up too much,
you're going to tuck the dough under the apples.
Almost like creating a little blankie.
You want to make sure that everybody's nice and snug.
Then you're going to go back in and crimp the dough
so that it's sort of sticking to the skillet,
and that will prevent any of the
juices from sort of bubbling and seeping out.
Then we're going to pop the whole thing
in a 425 degree pre-heated oven
for about 20 minutes.
You'll know that it's done when it starts to
pop up and turn golden-brown.
Then you want to get out a platter.
Something that's a little bit bigger than
your actual skillet.
I like to use a wooden platter because
the skillet is so heavy
and the wooden platter is nice and light
and it makes this whole flipping business a lot easier.
So go ahead and put your platter on top.
Make sure you have your oven mitts.
And at the count of three, get yourself ready.
Give it a flip.
And then let it sort of settle.
You might want to shake it a little bit
just to make sure it's released.
And remove that skillet.
Voila! You will have a gorgeous apple tart tatin.
If it's not perfect, don't worry about it.
One of the beauties of this tart
is it has a really wonderful rustic charm.
So if the little things are misshapen
or the apples are out of place, that's okay.
Serve it alongside some brandy-scented whipped cream.
I really love to use Calvados if you can find it,
but if you can't, any kind of French brandy will do.
And if you don't drink, that's okay.
You can totally omit the brandy,
and you can add some vanilla extract, as well.
The full recipe for this whipped cream
is also in the description.
I love this recipe because it is so beautiful and rustic.
People are always impressed by it
when you say you've made it from scratch.
You'll find those caramelized apples
are the perfect marriage
with that buttery flaky crust underneath.
It's really the perfect type of dessert
to serve this time of year
when apples are coming into season.
I hope you guys give this one a try
and let me know what you think.
I also hope that you'll subscribe for more easy recipes.
I will see you back here next week with another one.
Until then, bye.
(whimsical foreign music)