It turns out, that while I love pie and everything about making it, many find making a pie from scratch with homemade pie dough, filling and assembling like a daunting task they couldn’t do. I say the hardest part is probably in achieving a flaky pie crust, but be kind to yourself and slowly get into pie baking. Work on your filling and rolling skills first, so take advantage of store bought pie dough. Or even puff pastry! If a classic apple pie seems like too much work or challenging for your this year, then why not try the French take on the classic…a Tarte Tatin!
The easier, effortless and quicker to make version of an apple pie, Tarte Tatin involves making a simple caramel first which the apples are then cooked slightly in before going into an oven safe skillet where it all gets simply covered with a lovely puff pastry sheet and baked to golden loveliness.
Yes, you must do a quick flip of the wrist to get this Tarte onto the plate as it is baked upside down, but what a comforting treat it is, especially on a chilly Thanksgiving afternoon or any chilly winter day …..
In France, as apple tarts go you won’t find a more iconic than the classic Tarte Tatin. This tart is icon French pastry. But don’t be confused, a Tarte Tatin is not the French word for Apple Tart. A Tarte Tartin is in fact a very specific kind of French Apple Tart.
A Tarte Tatin is thinner than your double crusted apple pie, lighter in taste and sweetness with only a few ingredients. And yet, it’s a lovely desert to serve or enjoy yourself in all your cozy glory! But it’s also a tart/pie that is easy to make, and doesn’t require a perfect final look, in fact, its rustic look is part of its charm … making it perfect for the unique holiday season this year 😉
I heard you murmuring, don’t worry if you’re a novice remember. So let’s talk Apples….Yes, the Type of Apple Matters! You’ll need one that will hold it’s shape as it will be flipped over and its rounded side exposed, unlike pie where the slices are cooked down or covered with dough. And you’ll also want to stick with the same variety of apple for Tarte Tatin. You need an apple that holds its shape after it bakes. A quick search on the internet and you’ll find the best baking apples for your desserts, but I do love a Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Macoun …
And you don’t need to cut them all perfect, so relax 🧡 I’ve seen recipes ask for apple halves, which are too big, quarters which are too small, and found that 2/3 of an apple is a good size. Of course, occasionally you’ll have a larger or smaller apple than the rest, so make sure you make each section more or less equal to the rest. They don’t need to be exact, rustic remember…imperfect natural looking baking is the loveliest!
As many are doing so this year, our Thanksgiving, which typically is closer to twenty people, will only be spent with my parents and I. It’s sad not to celebrate our traditions of gathering, like every year before, with everyone; making favorite dishes in plenty and reveling together — but in part I’m also very much looking forward to this smaller, quieter, simpler holiday season!
Are you?? I feel slight guilt about it, but it’s nice to scale things back every now and then, I know some of you might agree, right. think it might be the first year in a long time, perhaps since my teens, that I will fully savor and live in each moment of this magical time of year. That’s how I want to approach these next few weeks from Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year, with a sense of childhood wonder!!
With everyone starting to decorate and get into the holiday spirt much sooner this year, I don’t blame any of you, I’m also not in the hurry or have the enthusiastic energy to get everything decorated in an instant. I’m taking it one step at it time when it comes to decorating for Christmas and doing the holiday activities and projects I’m hoping to get done this season. And I think it will be nice to have a holiday project or task to get done daily for the rest of the year.
It almost reminds me of holiday movies where they always seem to be doing quintessential holiday-y things. Well, if you really think about it, they’re not doing those things every hour, of every day. They’re decorating the tree, getting it cut, going to the holiday market, buying gifts, making cookies….for a small portion of their day. Heyyy, that’s totally doable! And if you take a step back at the end of your day and look back at what you’ve done, you’ll probably realize that you too lived your Hallmark Christmas movie moment for those two hours, getting the tree out of the box and fluffed, cleaning the mantle for your stockings…
I’m certainly looking forward to making some new dishes this year, but also bringing back old favorites. You know those dishes we love but take a bit longer to make, well this year I’m making them again. I also am looking forward to doing some hands on projects, like holiday decor I haven’t had the time to do so in the past.
My take on the classic Tarte Tatin which I created last Thanksgiving, has a lovely crunch with the addition of walnuts and was the result of ingredients tossed together last minute in a bowl. Oh, and I mean I threw these ingredients together mindlessly. I had gotten a last minute pie order, so was left with a single pie crust dough, and not enough time to make more, and not even enough apples to make my deep-dish apple pie which I make every year for the family. Double the apple, double the delicious comfort — but with a smaller family holiday last year too, it worked out all those apples weren’t needed, less to waste!
And have no fear because caramel was left over from a salted caramel pie I made, a d’anjou pear lingered and my eye caught the sight of walnuts in the corner. All blended together and thrown into a buttered deep baking dish and topped with said single crust pie dough.
The final verdict….an apple pie/cobbler/baked fruit dessert that was even more warm and cozy comforting than I could imagine! At first bite, I could see my father’s smile widen as he said, “this tastes just like the baked apples I’d eat growing up” in Angola as a child. And that’s all I needed to feel so happy and full. That’s the goal for whatever I bake and make for others, if it can bring up a certain cherished memory, take you back to another time or remind you of wonderful things, how could you not feel happy. And with something as simple as baked apples in spices and flaky dough, all is well in the world for that lovely moment in time …..
That apple pie mashup dessert last Thanksgiving was the inspiration for this Tarte Tatin recipe. The walnuts when added into the Tarte Tatin with the apples, bake into soft goodness. You’d actually be surprised they were in there to begin with until you bite into your apples and find these nutty bites hidden beneath. They give the Tarte a nice layer of texture between the soft caramely apples and thin flaky pastry crust.
The caramel. That’s where all the coziness sweet delight comes from. But be careful it does not burn! A few seconds too long of you looking away and that nice thick amber ooze can quickly develop into a slightly smokey flavor. It’s not the biggest deal but you certainly will taste a little bit of it once the Tarte Tatin is baked. But seriously not the end of the world, it will still taste yummy and lovely on a chilly autumn or winter afternoon, after Thanksgiving lunch, with Christmas coffee, however you decide to snuggle up with your slice of Tarte Tatin.
As for you Crust…puff pastry will be kind to you! Although you can use pie dough, as I have in the past, I found the final texture isn’t quite the same as the thin flakier puff pastry. But there are also differences in bake time for each dough, as pie dough takes longer than puff pastry, so keep that in mind when making yours.
Let me tell you, eating this slightly warm still fresh from the oven — the pie dough buttery and flakey … it’s like receiving the warmest, most loving hug. And that is exactly what all of us need and want right now, and since we can’t physically do it with all our loved ones this holiday season, that’s why we have comforting desserts baked with love like this Caramel Walnut Tarte Tatin!!
Oh mon Dieu, pardonne-moi while I skimmer downstairs for another slice of this delightfully yummy tart …..
Caramel Walnut Tarte Tatin
{Makes one 11″ tart :: Serves 8 to 10}
Ingredients
3/4 cup – Raw Sugar {or Granulated Sugar, if you prefer}
4 tablespoons – Unsalted Butter, cold + cubed
7 to 8 medium {about 3 to 3 1/2 pounds} – Apples {use a variety like Pink Lady, Gala or Fuji…}
Half a Lemon – Juiced {seeds removed}
1/2 cup – Walnuts, chopped {optional, can be made without nuts if prefer}
Dash of Sea Salt
1 sheet – Puff Pastry, defrosted
Fresh Whipped Cream, to top – optional
Recipe
- Preheat oven to 400°F {205°C}. Peel and cut your apples into thirds, removing the core. {Don’t worry if each piece isn’t exactly the same size} Place the apples in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice.
- Place the sugar into a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook, stirring consistently until sugar is dissolved. Have the butter near your stove ready to be added right away. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until the caramel is about amber in color, be careful not cook too long as it will darken quickly**
- Remove skillet from heat and whisk in the butter, mixing until melted and smooth. Return skillet to heat and add your apple pieces and cook over medium-high heat coating completely with the caramel. Stir in the walnuts and salt. Cook apples until they begin to soften and turn translucent around the edges {about 8 to 10 minutes}. *If your apple begin to get mushy you’re probably using the wrong apples and it won’t get much better in the oven with further baking time*
- Using tongs, carefully transfer your apple pieces and place them in your oven safe skillet *rounded side down* — arranging them from the outside in towards the center, slightly overlapping each apple piece. Pour the extra walnut caramel sauce atop the apple pieces, and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. In the meantime, roll out your puff pastry sheet to about an inch larger than the pan.
- Top the caramel walnut apples with the puff pastry, tucking the edges in all around. Cut four vent slits in the center, and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until puff pastry is golden brown and apples are bubbling around the edges {about 30 minutes}.
- Remove from oven, place onto a cooling rack and run a butter know around the edges to loosen. Allow the tarte to cool in the pan at least 30 minutes, and up 60 minutes works perfectly well. Placing a plate larger than the tarte, perferably one with a slight edge, atop the pastry quickly flip over the pan. Gently remove the pan. *If apples stuck to your pan simply remove them and place them back atop the tarte.
- Serve warm, top with more walnuts to fresh whipped cream as desired.
Note : Can be refrigerated up to 3 to 4 days.
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