As you know, I am a big fan of traditional foods. One of my favorites is the Tarte Tatin, an upside down apple tart. While there are many upside down tarts and cakes in French cuisine (tartes renversées, gateaux renversés) the one named Tatin is made with apples.
The Tarte Tatin was created in the 1880s by sisters Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin, owners of the Hôtel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron near Paris. Stéphanie did most of the cooking and is said to have created the Tarte Tatin accidentally one evening when in a rush during “the hunt.” (Hunt or not, what cook hasn’t accidentally created something new when up against a deadline? I know I have.) The dessert became wildly popular at the hotel and even caught the attention of the owner at Maxim’s in Paris, where he added it to the menu in the 1950s as “la tarte des demoiselles Tatin.”
However, in the cookbook Chez Maxim’s (McGraw-Hill, 1962), the story is a little more interesting. “This delicious and unusual pie has an amazing story behind it, a spy story. My wife Maggie and I discovered it completely by accident in a tiny provincial Hotel run by three old maids, the Tatin sisters. We liked it so much that we asked the owners to give us the recipe, but the ladies refused. It was a jealously guarded family secret handed down from generation to generation. As soon as we returned to Paris, we sent one of Maxim’s cooks on a special mission. He went to the sisters, got himself hired as an assistant gardener and, while raking the flowerbeds, he succeeded in raking in the formula for the pie! You can see just how far a we gourmets will go!”
The recipe has undergone a lot of permutations since then. My recipe uses ingredients similar to those found in the Chez Maxim’s cookbook, but with a very different method. It is the simplest version I know, and simplest is often the best. Of course the success of any good dish is the use of quality ingredients. For this tart, I only used organic, locally-grown apples, and unsalted French butter.
Thanks to Cocoa & Lavender reader Patricia B., who wrote to me and requested I share the recipe. It’s hard to believe that, in all these years, I’ve never posted this recipe. It’s a true classic.
~ David
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Connie Weis
October 9, 2021 at 8:09 amLooks like a cover from (sadly gone) Gourmet magazine, when it was at its best.
Cocoa & Lavender
October 10, 2021 at 5:07 pmI really miss Gourmet Magazine, Connie. What a loss for the culinary community! Thank you for that ultimate compliment! I’m quite touched.
Jean | Delightful Repast
October 28, 2021 at 1:00 pmJust what I was thinking, Connie. Which reminds me, I doubt if I’m the only one who misses the Bon Appetit magazine of bygone years, “when it was at its best.”
Cocoa & Lavender
October 30, 2021 at 12:09 amYes, I miss the old BA, too – the unwisely tried to appeal to a generation that either doesn’t cook or prefers their meal box programs. So sad. And now Saveur is gone, too. I get no magazines now…
Fran @ G'day Souffle
October 9, 2021 at 8:24 amClaude Monet and his family used to make impromptu rides from Giverny to the Tatin sisters place to taste their tartes- how exciting! Julia Child makes her Tarte Tatin in a glass baking dish but I like yours better baked inside a cast iron skillet! Looks like you’ve got that caramelization of the apples down perfectly!
Cocoa & Lavender
October 10, 2021 at 5:08 pmI love the Claude Monet connection, Fran! I had no idea. I think you can make it in anything, but I prefer a skillet of some variety because it keeps you from using too many pots and pans!
John / Kitchen Riffs
October 9, 2021 at 8:57 amI like the idea of making this in a cast iron skillet. This is such a great dish, and one I rarely make. Shame on me! Yours looks SO good, I’m inspired. Great apple pictures, BTW — like the position of the light — such a neat shadow. Anyway, good stuff — thanks.
Cocoa & Lavender
October 10, 2021 at 5:09 pmI’m really glad you like that photo of the apple, John. It was about 3:30 in the morning and I needed an apple photo and I didn’t want to wake everybody up by getting my lights set up. So I put it on the kitchen counter, and the rest is history. This is a really super dish, and I don’t know why I don’t make it more often. I think it’s going to be on my table a lot more this season.
John
October 9, 2021 at 2:33 pmI love the story behind this, especially the spying gardener. Brilliant! I haven’t made a tarte tatin for quite some time. Not sure why because they’re actually very straightforward and easy to construct. The pastry is the fiddliest part. Thanks for sharing your recipe, David! It looks divine!
Cocoa & Lavender
October 10, 2021 at 5:09 pmYes, the spying gardner really made the whole story! Thanks John, it really is pretty simple to put together.
Pauline McNee
October 9, 2021 at 3:08 pmDavid I love the back story to this remarkable dish, and I adore a Tarte train. Thanks for the pastry recipe too , that’s what makes the big difference I’m sure. My French daughter in laws sister made this for us one year and made it look so easy. Great post, thanks.
Cocoa & Lavender
October 10, 2021 at 5:10 pmSome people make this with puff pastry, Pauline, but I was I was taught that a short crust was best and it certainly is a lot easier to eat at the table. (do you ever find puff pastry difficult to maneuver without a fork and knife?)
Eha
October 9, 2021 at 4:43 pmWhat a delightful find on a Sunday morning ! Am trying so hard to access memory banks as I did know the story . . . and have the very same book ‘somewhere’ in the house . . . so must look as I have not made this for at least a few years ! Not apple season here naturally . . . but your recipe will end atop my to-do file for a few months hence. And your looks absolutely beautiful . . .
Cocoa & Lavender
October 10, 2021 at 5:12 pmThe Chez Maxim’s Cookbook is a hoot! I’ve cooked a few things (all with good results) but my favorite thing is making fun of the photography!
Jeff the Chef
October 10, 2021 at 9:57 amThis is gorgeous! I love tarte tatin, and have made it myself plenty of times, but this presentation is stunning! You cook the most beautiful foods. I’m going to be making this one! I haven’t even started in on my apple indulgences this fall! i think I’ll go apple picking next weekend.
Cocoa & Lavender
October 10, 2021 at 5:12 pmI’m sure yours is just as beautiful as mine, Jeff! I can’t wait to make another one! Thanks, as always, for your incredibly kind words.
Melissa
October 10, 2021 at 2:33 pmLike many others, I haven’t made a tarte tatin for years, but clearly it’s time to revisit. Your version looks great!
Cocoa & Lavender
October 10, 2021 at 5:14 pmMissy, I wish we lived closer together! Would it be fun to make one together? I have great memories of French club… The night we made French onion soup. I can’t member whose house, but I think it was across from Steve Shaber’s house. Cindy Walck?
sippitysup
October 10, 2021 at 2:50 pmI’ve heard all those femmes des Tatin stories. In fact, I started half of them when I was a spy in France! GREG
Cocoa & Lavender
October 10, 2021 at 5:14 pmI always knew you were a spy, Greg.
sherry
October 10, 2021 at 5:15 pmthislooks very pretty david but i prefer savoury things so i tend to make a tomato and caramelised onion version when i do – which is rarely these days:-)
Cocoa & Lavender
October 10, 2021 at 5:17 pmIt amazes me that you prefer savory things, Sherry, yet I see a lot of desserts in your posts! Is this denial? 🤣
2pots2cook
October 11, 2021 at 4:22 amGreg’s comment makes me laugh….. and you answer too. Anyway, did not know the story behind this beauty. Thank you so much !
Cocoa & Lavender
October 11, 2021 at 11:26 amGreg always cracks me up! It’s a really fun story, isn’t it?
Susan Manfull
October 11, 2021 at 9:01 amI agree with @Connie Weis (above) about the Gourmet and also share the sentiments of both of you about its demise. Mine will never look like yours but I shall keep trying!
Cocoa & Lavender
October 11, 2021 at 11:27 amI still can’t believe they kept Bon Appétit instead of The Gourmet Magazine. What a loss!
Jean | Delightful Repast
October 28, 2021 at 1:04 pmBut, David, the Bon Appetit of today is NOT the Bon Appetit it once was! sigh
Cocoa & Lavender
October 30, 2021 at 12:11 amTrue, but even then, The Gourmet Magazine was the better of the two… and they started bringing BA down as soon as they could. I miss both so much.
Ron
October 12, 2021 at 3:05 amDavid, I remember years ago going to my first ever weekend cooking class and the chef started our class by saying,” there are no disasters in a kitchen, only opportunities”. So, I’m going with the stress creation theory for the Tatin. Now, I must also admit that I live by that quote when I cook, but some opportunities have ended up in the kitchen bin.
Great recipe, perfect for our fall apple season…
Cocoa & Lavender
October 13, 2021 at 7:11 amIt really is basically true, Ron, but I’ve also had my share of disasters it could not be fixed… The sweet potato gnocchi that were like little orange doorstops (way too much flour), the gelatin mold that could not be cut with a knife (I learned never to boil gelatin), and the oysters in Pernod that were basically disgusting (never follow a low fat recipe that calls for replacing cream with evaporated milk).
Gloria Roa Baker
October 12, 2021 at 4:24 pmDear David this looks beautiful I love autumn desserts ! are the best!! take care
Cocoa & Lavender
October 13, 2021 at 7:11 amMe, too, Gloria! And now it’s making me wonder what wonderful spring desserts you’re making down in Chile.
Raymund
October 12, 2021 at 7:12 pmI love traditional food too, in fact I am obsessed on those traditional ones that are forgotten already and it one of the main goals of my blog. Reviving those old recipes our ancestors used to make. That Tarte Tatin looks really great BTW, I am sure they are really good since its almost similar to my recipe I just added a touch cinnamon and brandy, but I cheated and used a supermarket bought flaky pastry.
https://www.angsarap.net/2013/04/12/pear-tarte-tatin/
Cocoa & Lavender
October 13, 2021 at 7:14 amYour pear version looks great! I think the addition of brandy sounds fantastic with the pears. The reason I use pâte brisée is that puff pastry can often be tough to cut with a fork.
Shashi
October 13, 2021 at 3:52 amI am so glad I stumbled on your blog and THIS recipe! I love the story of Maxim’s cook/gardner/spy who managed to secure the recipe – your version is simply scrumptious – I am bookmarking this page with the hope that I make this soon!
Cocoa & Lavender
October 13, 2021 at 7:14 amIsn’t that the funniest story, Shashi? I hope you get a chance to make this… Maybe after Julia‘s apples!
Christina | Christina's Cucina
October 16, 2021 at 10:25 pmOooh, one of my favorite desserts, David! There’s a French restaurant here in LA (Taix) which does a really nice one, and even my French friend, Marie, approves! I made one recently, but I think it’s time for another after seeing yours!
Cocoa & Lavender
October 17, 2021 at 12:12 amIt is definitely the season for this tarte, Christina! I will have to add Taix to my list of LA restaurants to try!
Valentina
October 17, 2021 at 7:08 pmI didn’t know this history of this and it’s so much fun to read about it. I’ve only made once once, and it wasn’t as good as this one looks or sounds. The tart is stunning — as is the apple photo, by the way. And now it’s fall. 🙂 ~Valentina
Cocoa & Lavender
October 18, 2021 at 10:28 pmThe funny thing, Valentina, is that so many of the recipes out there make it harder than it is. This one is pretty easy – all you will need is your favorite gf crust recipe!
Inger @ Art of Natural Liivng
October 19, 2021 at 8:13 pmI’ve been dreaming about this since I saw it on Instagram David! Still need to get my head above water and make it while the refrigerator is full of apples!
Cocoa & Lavender
October 19, 2021 at 10:24 pmA refrigerator full of apples sounds wonderful! Think of all the things you can make!
Kelly | Foodtasia
October 25, 2021 at 8:36 amDavid, I fell in love with tarte tatin in Paris and it’s still one of my all-time favorite desserts. It’s so simple yet so sublime. Yours is absolutely gorgeous! I still have all my stacks of the old Gourmet and Bon Appetite magazines from many years past. The recipes are all online now, but I can’t seem to part with them. So many memories of cooking from them!
David Scott Allen
October 26, 2021 at 11:33 pmParting with favorite old magazines is hard… I still keep many and I think I have every issue of Saveur! The tarte tatin is really easy – but makes such an elegant presentation.
Karen (Back Road Journal)
November 4, 2021 at 10:00 amThis delicious dish is clearly meant to share with friends, it is beautiful.
Cocoa & Lavender
November 5, 2021 at 6:35 amAnd that is exactly what we did, Karen! 🙂