French Tarte Tatin

Ingredients

• 6–8 firm apples, peeled, halved, and cored
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1 sheet puff pastry, chilled

Method

1. Melt the butter and sugar in an oven-safe skillet over medium heat until deep amber caramel forms, 8–10 minutes.
2. Arrange the apple halves cut-side up tightly in the caramel and cook 10 minutes more.
3. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Drape the puff pastry over the apples, tucking the edges down inside the pan.
4. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden brown.
5. Let cool 10 minutes, then place a serving plate over the skillet and carefully invert the tart onto the plate.

The Tale of French Tarte Tatin

Story updated September 15, 2026

Tarte Tatin takes its name from the Tatin sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline, who ran the Hôtel Tatin in the small town of Lamotte-Beuvron in France's Loire Valley starting in 1888. According to the most popular telling, Stéphanie, who handled the kitchen, was preparing her usual apple tart during a busy hunting season when she put the dish in the oven upside down, pastry on top of the apples rather than underneath, and served it anyway rather than start over. The result, with apples caramelized in butter and sugar beneath a crisp pastry lid, delighted guests, and the sisters kept making it, though they never published a recipe or set out to create a signature dish. It was only after their deaths that the food writer Curnonsky and the famous Parisian restaurant Maxim's helped popularize the tart under the Tatin name, cementing a local kitchen improvisation into one of France's best-known desserts, still traditionally served upside down with the caramelized fruit on top.