Apple Tarte Tatin is a classic French dessert that consists of apples cooked in caramel, topped with puff pastry, and then upside-down. The dish is named after the Tatin sisters, who ran a hotel in the Loire Valley region of France in the late 19th century.
Tarte Tatin ( a type of upside-down apple tart consisting of pastry baked over slices of fruit arranged in caramelized sugar, served fruit side up after cooking.)


Invented by accident
While the Tatin sisters are credited with inventing the Apple Tarte Tatin, there are conflicting stories about how the dish was actually created. One story claims that the tarte was invented by accident when one of the sisters forgot to put the dough on top of the apples before putting them in the oven. Regardless of how it was created, Apple Tarte Tatin is now a beloved family dessert. To make Apple Tarte Tatin, start by peeling and slicing apples.

Serve Apple Tarte Tatin warm
Then, make a caramel sauce by simmering sugar and butter until it turns golden brown. Next, arrange the sliced apples in a cast iron skillet or tarte pan, pour the caramel sauce over them, and top with puff pastry. Bake at high heat until the pastry is golden brown, then flip the tarte out onto a plate. Serve Apple Tarte Tatin warm, with a scoop of ice cream or freshly whipped cream. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
Prep time: 20 min.
Cook time: 60 min. plus cooling time
Servings: 8
- Ingredients:
- 6-8 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 8 even wedges
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- One 8-10 oz. sheet puff pastry (depending on the size of your package)
- Flour for dusting board
- Whipped Cream or Vanilla Bean Ice Cream to top dessert (Optional)

Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°Farenheigt
- Spread softened butter over the bottom of an 8-9” springform pan or ovenproof skillet.
- Sprinkle sugar over the butter layer.
- Layer apples on top of the sugar in a circular pattern.
- Bake the apples for 20 minutes or until the caramelized sugar is bubbling. Remove them from the oven and set them aside to cool completely. Turn off the oven.
- After your apples have cooled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface so that it is a circle that is slightly larger than your baking pan.
- Place pastry on top of apples.
- Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until it is golden brown.
- Remove from oven, and cool for 10 minutes.
- Put the pastry on top of the apples. Flip it quickly and carefully so that the apples are now on top of the pastry.
- Put the pastry on top of the apples. Flip it quickly and carefully so that the apples are now on top of the pastry.
- Enjoy.

Does tarte tatin need to be refrigerated
If you've ever made Apple Tarte Tatin, you know that it's a delicious family desert. The recipe is pretty simple: you cook apples in sugar and butter, then add puff pastry on top and bake it. But once you've made it, you might be wondering: does tarte tatin need to be refrigerated?
The answer is: it depends. If you're going to eat the tarte tatin within a day or two, there's no need to refrigerate it. Just keep it covered at room temperature and it will be fine. But if you want to keep it for longer than that, it's best to refrigerate it. The sugar and butter in the recipe can start to go off if they're not kept cold, so it's better to be safe than sorry. Just give it a quick blitz in the microwave before serving and it will be as good as new.
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Apple Tarte Tatin
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 8
Description
A Tarte Tatin is a classic French dessert that is basically just an upside-down pie. It is said to have been invented by the Tatin sisters at the Hotel Tatin back in the 1880’s when Stephanie Tatin got distracted while baking an apple pie and left her apples cooking in the butter and sugar too long. Upon realizing her mistake and trying to save the pie, she placed her pastry on top of the pan of apples and finished it off then turned it out onto a platter. The hotel guest loved it and a new classic was born.
Ingredients
Ingredients:
6-8 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8 even wedges
½ C unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
½ C sugar
One 8-10 oz. sheet puff pastry (depending on the size of your package)
Flour for dusting board
Whipped Cream or Vanilla Bean Ice Cream to top dessert (Optional)
Instructions
Directions:
-
Preheat oven to 400°F.
-
Spread softened butter over the bottom of a 8-9” springform pan or ovenproof skillet.
-
Sprinkle sugar over the butter layer.
-
Layer apples in a repeating circular pattern over the sugar layer.
-
Bake for 20 minutes or until the caramelized sugar is bubbling in between the apples. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely. Turn off oven.
-
Once apples have completely cooled, Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to a circle slightly larger than your baking pan.
-
Place pastry on top of apples.
-
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.
-
Remove from oven, cool for 10 minutes.
Invert a serving platter on top of pan. Quickly and carefully flip so that the apples are now on top of the pastry.
-
Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
-
Enjoy!
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Notes
Tips: Granny Smith, Honeycrisp or Fuji apples are all great choices to use in this recipe. A Tarte Tatin can also be made with other fruits such as pears or apricots.
If desired, you can prepare the caramelized apples the day before and store in the refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator at least 30 minutes prior to baking. When ready to bake top apples with pastry crust and continue as directed.
This recipe was prepared in a springform pan. It can also be prepared in any 8-9” oven-proof skillet.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
