a favorite new years dish of a friend’s mother, who uses an old nytimes recipe…we’ll see
Question: does the skillet have to be cast iron, or can it be aluminum or non-stick (as long as it’s oven-proof)? Seems the apples wouldn’t stick on a pan that’s oven-proof coated? Excited to try this one!
Hi Mike, I used an oven-proof nonstick pan and it worked great!
Thanks Jill – I did the same (non-stick) and it worked good (90% good). 2 apple quarters were left – but they were easily placed with the rest. Mine took unreasonably long to get caramelized, maybe that’s why there were a few “dark” apples on the top. Tastes great – not the most pretty thing to photograph!
I don’t have a cast iron skillet…so, I will have to improvise. I’m looking forward to making this!!!!!
Yet another question: (I need to start taking that book with me to the store) — so I come home with a bunch of Braeburn apples. Will those work? I’m reading Dorie’s list and see no mention of these – for some reason, I thought these needed to be sweet, red apples… !
Im not picky when I choose apples, but some people are. I think it will be just fine. :)
A friend of mine uses braeburn apples in her apple crisp ALL the time. I second Laurie, you’ll be fine.:)
Ok – I’ll give them a try, thanks! What’s the worst that can happen… (famous last words).
I’ll be using Braeburns too. I’ve done quite a lot of baking with them and like them. They hold their shape well and have a nice balance of sweetness with tartness. So Mike, I think you’ll be fine — if not, we’ll both have company in our problems!
I’ll be using Gala.
Careful when flipping – the caramel runs out and drips EVERYWHERE if you don’t flip quickly. Use potholders! It was wonderful, and so worth it though :)
any improv. ideas if i don’t have a cast iron pan?
could i make the apples in a skillet, transfer them to a glass dish then bake in there and flip?
I don’t have any oven safe pans, at least nothing that I would be comfortable with using. Instead I cooked the apples and caramel in a regular 9-inch frying pan (with as high an edge as I had). When the mixture had caramalized I carefully poured it into a sprayed 9-inch cake pan and covered it with the crust. Based on all the recipes I have seen and the few I have tried, this dessert is supposed to be rustic in appearance so don’t worry too much about sliding it into a cake pan. Just press everything together again with a spatula.
It turned out comfortably beautiful. :)
Thanks for the great idea. I do not own a oven proof pan either, so I will try your method!
thanks!!! great idea.
I am nervous and excited about making this one. Even if it doesn’t come out of the pan looking perfect, I have a feeling it’s going to be fabulous.
Pam, I’ve never made a Tartin either, but I have a DVD of Julia Child making one. She flipped it over and the apples stuck and went everywhere but on the serving platter. If she can make a wonderful presentation out of that, then I don’t think it’s impossible for anyone!
What kind of pastry are people using? Dorie gives three options (pie dough, sweet tart dough, or puff pastry) and I’m having trouble deciding. I’m leaning towards puff pastry.
I had decided to make my own pie dough, but then in a moment of weakness snagged the puff pastry from the freezer aisle. Its in the oven now. Ill let you know how it turns out!
puff is totally delicious with the caramel!!
I used puff pastry (frozen, store-bought), and it was marvelous!
puff pastry here, too. It gave it a very baklava-esque quality. YUMS.
Okay…. not sure if I just didnt cook the caramel long enough before it went into the oven, or if I didnt cook it in the oven long enough. The puff pastry looked golden and sufficiently puffed. However, when I flipped it, the apples seemed awfully pale to me, and the caramel was really soupy. Is that what it is supposed to be like?
With all that said, I have never had a tarte tatin. So, Im not sure what Im really looking for. I just know that my outcome did not match the picture in the book.
i’d say that ideally it shouldn’t be too soupy/liquidy by the time you flip it out (you shouldn’t have a ton of liquid caramel that runs onto the plate). i always take my caramel pretty dark to start (w/out being burned, of course).
I’ll ditto Steph – my caramel was nearly burned, and I actually used less butter than called for (6 Tbsp instead of 8) and the caramel was the perfect consistency.
I could have written this comment… I had the exact same results. It was a goopy (but delicious) mess!
I think mine came out the right color, but it definitely took a good bit longer than 15 minutes to get there. I am still getting reaccustomed to working with an electric stove, so that might have been part of my problem.
I burned my first batch of apples/caramel. Argh! The apples release juice and it takes a while to cook down at first, but once it gets close to done — don’t leave the kitchen!
Fortunately I was making a smaller one in a small pan, so I didn’t waste as much. I just started over again and the second try was wonderful!
Oh — watch out for flowing caramel when you turn it out onto the serving plate, too. I put my serving plate on the silicone-lined baking pan, which caught the drips and overflow.
smart! i’ll be doing that too now thx to your suggestion of putting it over a lined baking sheet
I’ve decided to make my own puff pastry for this one–I haven’t made puff pastry since cooking school! We’ll see just how much puff it has. I have a bag of Macintosh apples in the fridge, but I think I had better go out and buy some Golden Delicious. The Macs might turn into applesauce on me. Having it for dessert tomorrow night!
Going to make this Wednesday as I have a friend coming over for tea that evening! So I’ll have two Dorie-posts this week after being absent for a looooong time: Tuesday I’ll write post about the Cocoa-Buttermilk Birthday (cup)Cake and Wednesday about the Tarte Tatin. I’m soooo excited!!!!
Would anyone mind letting me know the number of apples I need? I’m at work and forgot to look before I left this morning, and I need to pick them up to make this tonight. I’m pretty sure I’ve got everything else, but if there is something out of the ordinary please advise!
Thanks so much in advance, and sorry for the bother!
Dorie says 8 in the book. :)
Hey Jennifer, the recipe states 8 apples, either Gala, Fuji or Golden Delicious. Good luck!!
Thanks for the quick responses. This is one of my all time favorite desserts, so I am very excited about it!
:-)
We just finished eating mine, and it was fantastic! The apples didn’t stick at all, though they were a bit dark in spots. I used a cast iron pan and puff pastry. There wasn’t a problem with caramel running, but flipping it was a bit stressful: very hot and very heavy! We had it with creme fraiche.
Now a couple of questions:
Do I just post on my blog for tomorrow?
Do I link to here?
What does P&Q stand for anyway?
Thanks!
Hi Mary, Laurie is hosting both the tatin and the cake so you can link to her blog. And I think P&Q stands for ‘problems and questions’. :)
I was doubtful, but this was grrreat! Hoping the other half will hold up ok till tomorrow…y’all are maybe going to finally convert me to eating cooked and sweetened fruit :-)
aww… i’m so disappointed! I didn’t brown mine for long enough so they ended up sll pale and anemic looking.,
I just made the tarte tatin and it came out wonderfully. My husband had to help me flip the tarte because the pan was so big and I needed moral support, but it flipped perfectly (only one quarter was stuck to the pan) and everyone loved it. Yummy!
I am going to make this “anniversary” treat for my wedding anniversary tomorrow and post a day late – sorry but I hope you will understand. My honey and I celebrate “48” years – how can it be? What an adventure!
WOW! Congrats to you and your husband, that is absolutely phenomenal! I cannot wait to read all about your tarte tomorrow. :)
I am painfully, horribly late with this ~ but this recipe was wonderful! Definitely a keeper and one we will make many times over.
Tuesdays with Dorie 
a favorite new years dish of a friend’s mother, who uses an old nytimes recipe…we’ll see
Question: does the skillet have to be cast iron, or can it be aluminum or non-stick (as long as it’s oven-proof)? Seems the apples wouldn’t stick on a pan that’s oven-proof coated? Excited to try this one!
Hi Mike, I used an oven-proof nonstick pan and it worked great!
Thanks Jill – I did the same (non-stick) and it worked good (90% good). 2 apple quarters were left – but they were easily placed with the rest. Mine took unreasonably long to get caramelized, maybe that’s why there were a few “dark” apples on the top. Tastes great – not the most pretty thing to photograph!
I don’t have a cast iron skillet…so, I will have to improvise. I’m looking forward to making this!!!!!
Yet another question: (I need to start taking that book with me to the store) — so I come home with a bunch of Braeburn apples. Will those work? I’m reading Dorie’s list and see no mention of these – for some reason, I thought these needed to be sweet, red apples… !
Im not picky when I choose apples, but some people are. I think it will be just fine. :)
A friend of mine uses braeburn apples in her apple crisp ALL the time. I second Laurie, you’ll be fine.:)
Ok – I’ll give them a try, thanks! What’s the worst that can happen… (famous last words).
I’ll be using Braeburns too. I’ve done quite a lot of baking with them and like them. They hold their shape well and have a nice balance of sweetness with tartness. So Mike, I think you’ll be fine — if not, we’ll both have company in our problems!
I’ll be using Gala.
Careful when flipping – the caramel runs out and drips EVERYWHERE if you don’t flip quickly. Use potholders! It was wonderful, and so worth it though :)
any improv. ideas if i don’t have a cast iron pan?
could i make the apples in a skillet, transfer them to a glass dish then bake in there and flip?
I don’t have any oven safe pans, at least nothing that I would be comfortable with using. Instead I cooked the apples and caramel in a regular 9-inch frying pan (with as high an edge as I had). When the mixture had caramalized I carefully poured it into a sprayed 9-inch cake pan and covered it with the crust. Based on all the recipes I have seen and the few I have tried, this dessert is supposed to be rustic in appearance so don’t worry too much about sliding it into a cake pan. Just press everything together again with a spatula.
It turned out comfortably beautiful. :)
Thanks for the great idea. I do not own a oven proof pan either, so I will try your method!
thanks!!! great idea.
I am nervous and excited about making this one. Even if it doesn’t come out of the pan looking perfect, I have a feeling it’s going to be fabulous.
Pam, I’ve never made a Tartin either, but I have a DVD of Julia Child making one. She flipped it over and the apples stuck and went everywhere but on the serving platter. If she can make a wonderful presentation out of that, then I don’t think it’s impossible for anyone!
What kind of pastry are people using? Dorie gives three options (pie dough, sweet tart dough, or puff pastry) and I’m having trouble deciding. I’m leaning towards puff pastry.
I had decided to make my own pie dough, but then in a moment of weakness snagged the puff pastry from the freezer aisle. Its in the oven now. Ill let you know how it turns out!
puff is totally delicious with the caramel!!
I used puff pastry (frozen, store-bought), and it was marvelous!
puff pastry here, too. It gave it a very baklava-esque quality. YUMS.
Okay…. not sure if I just didnt cook the caramel long enough before it went into the oven, or if I didnt cook it in the oven long enough. The puff pastry looked golden and sufficiently puffed. However, when I flipped it, the apples seemed awfully pale to me, and the caramel was really soupy. Is that what it is supposed to be like?
With all that said, I have never had a tarte tatin. So, Im not sure what Im really looking for. I just know that my outcome did not match the picture in the book.
i’d say that ideally it shouldn’t be too soupy/liquidy by the time you flip it out (you shouldn’t have a ton of liquid caramel that runs onto the plate). i always take my caramel pretty dark to start (w/out being burned, of course).
I’ll ditto Steph – my caramel was nearly burned, and I actually used less butter than called for (6 Tbsp instead of 8) and the caramel was the perfect consistency.
I could have written this comment… I had the exact same results. It was a goopy (but delicious) mess!
I think mine came out the right color, but it definitely took a good bit longer than 15 minutes to get there. I am still getting reaccustomed to working with an electric stove, so that might have been part of my problem.
I burned my first batch of apples/caramel. Argh! The apples release juice and it takes a while to cook down at first, but once it gets close to done — don’t leave the kitchen!
Fortunately I was making a smaller one in a small pan, so I didn’t waste as much. I just started over again and the second try was wonderful!
Oh — watch out for flowing caramel when you turn it out onto the serving plate, too. I put my serving plate on the silicone-lined baking pan, which caught the drips and overflow.
smart! i’ll be doing that too now thx to your suggestion of putting it over a lined baking sheet
I’ve decided to make my own puff pastry for this one–I haven’t made puff pastry since cooking school! We’ll see just how much puff it has. I have a bag of Macintosh apples in the fridge, but I think I had better go out and buy some Golden Delicious. The Macs might turn into applesauce on me. Having it for dessert tomorrow night!
Going to make this Wednesday as I have a friend coming over for tea that evening! So I’ll have two Dorie-posts this week after being absent for a looooong time: Tuesday I’ll write post about the Cocoa-Buttermilk Birthday (cup)Cake and Wednesday about the Tarte Tatin. I’m soooo excited!!!!
Would anyone mind letting me know the number of apples I need? I’m at work and forgot to look before I left this morning, and I need to pick them up to make this tonight. I’m pretty sure I’ve got everything else, but if there is something out of the ordinary please advise!
Thanks so much in advance, and sorry for the bother!
Dorie says 8 in the book. :)
Hey Jennifer, the recipe states 8 apples, either Gala, Fuji or Golden Delicious. Good luck!!
Thanks for the quick responses. This is one of my all time favorite desserts, so I am very excited about it!
:-)
We just finished eating mine, and it was fantastic! The apples didn’t stick at all, though they were a bit dark in spots. I used a cast iron pan and puff pastry. There wasn’t a problem with caramel running, but flipping it was a bit stressful: very hot and very heavy! We had it with creme fraiche.
Now a couple of questions:
Do I just post on my blog for tomorrow?
Do I link to here?
What does P&Q stand for anyway?
Thanks!
Hi Mary, Laurie is hosting both the tatin and the cake so you can link to her blog. And I think P&Q stands for ‘problems and questions’. :)
Yes, post to your blog. If you want to link to recipes, I have them posted on my blog.
P&Q= problems and questions. ;)
Thanks very much, Valerina and Laurie!
I was doubtful, but this was grrreat! Hoping the other half will hold up ok till tomorrow…y’all are maybe going to finally convert me to eating cooked and sweetened fruit :-)
aww… i’m so disappointed! I didn’t brown mine for long enough so they ended up sll pale and anemic looking.,
I just made the tarte tatin and it came out wonderfully. My husband had to help me flip the tarte because the pan was so big and I needed moral support, but it flipped perfectly (only one quarter was stuck to the pan) and everyone loved it. Yummy!
Pingback: TWD – 2 Year Anniversary Tarte Tatin « The Whimsical Cupcake
I am going to make this “anniversary” treat for my wedding anniversary tomorrow and post a day late – sorry but I hope you will understand. My honey and I celebrate “48” years – how can it be? What an adventure!
WOW! Congrats to you and your husband, that is absolutely phenomenal! I cannot wait to read all about your tarte tomorrow. :)
I am painfully, horribly late with this ~ but this recipe was wonderful! Definitely a keeper and one we will make many times over.
Pingback: >12 Days of Christmas Cookies…… update « The Baking Bluefinger
Led grow light reviews 2018 More Bonuses