This French classic can be made in either your kitchen oven a your pizza oven (if you're lucky enough to have one). Apples are cooked in a rich caramel sauce with a puff pastry base.
Step 1Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. For the tarte tatin, unroll
the pastry and cut out a rough 24-25cm
circle, rolling the pastry out a little more
first, if needed. Transfer to the lined
baking sheet and prick all over with
a fork. Chill until needed.
Step 2Peel, core and quarter the apples.
Split the vanilla pod lengthways, if using,
keeping the end attached, and put into a
rough 24-25cm (at the top) ovenproof
frying pan or skillet with the sugar and
50ml water. Heat gently on the hob,
stirring until the sugar dissolves. Increase
heat to medium-high and cook to a rich
amber colour, swirling the pan, rather
than stirring.
Step 3Remove pan/skillet from heat,
add the chopped butter and stir to melt
(the caramel might look a little split).
Arrange the apples in the caramel in
a single layer, rounded-side down.
Return to medium hob heat for 10min
or until the caramel has reduced and
the apples are tender. Preheat oven
to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6.
Step 4Lay the pastry over the apples, tucking
the edges down into the pan/skillet.
Slice a cross into the centre of the pastry
to allow steam to escape. Cook in the
oven for 20-25min, or until the pastry
is deep golden.
Step 5Carefully remove from oven and leave
to cool and rest for 5min (wrap handle
in an oven glove to remind you it’s hot!).
Meanwhile, for the calvados cream, in
a medium bowl, beat all the ingredients
until the mixture just holds its shape.
Invert the tarte tatin on to a serving plate
and serve with the calvados cream.
Pizza-oven perfect:
Preheat pizza oven to 150-170°C. Freeze pastry disc until needed. Use a 24-25cm (at the top) skillet without a long handle. Cook apples in caramel (step 3) in pizza oven for 15min, turning the skillet every couple of min. Lay on pastry as per step 4, then cover skillet tightly with foil. Cook for 20min, turning the skillet every few min and making sure the foil stays in place, or until the pastry is deep golden. Complete recipe and serve.
GH TIP:
If you don’t have
any calvados, use
rum or brandy
instead, or you can
leave it out.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
