A tarte tatin is a classic French tart sold in most bakeries. It’s a very simple and rustic apple tart where you put the apples in the tart pan first and then the pastry crust on top. Once baked, it’s flipped upside down. Cooking the tart this way helps to caramelize the apples and give it a distinct flavor. I used this method but made it in a cast iron skillet, which easily goes from stovetop to oven.
I thought this would be a nice dessert for Thanksgiving as it’s different from a classic pie but still perfect because it’s full of apples. It would be great served along with some coconut yogurt, coconut whipped cream, or vegan vanilla ice cream.
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Ingredients
For the crust :
- 1 1/2 cups + 3 tbs all purpose flour (T55 in France)
- 2 tsp sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup sunflower oil, or other mild oil
For the filling :
- 6 medium apples
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbs coconut oil
- 1 tbs vegan butter
- 1/3 cup sugar
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 190°F or 375°C.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt and oil and stir just to combine.
- Scoop the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Using your hands, flatten the dough out into an even circle about the size of the skillet. Set aside.
- Peel the apples and cut them in slices, they don’t need to be too thin. Place the sliced apples in a bowl and add lemon juice to prevent them from browning. Add the cinnamon and stir well. Set aside.
- In a cast iron skillet (or another ovens safe skillet), add the coconut oil, butter, sugar and cook over medium heat.
- Stir often and keep a close eye on the sugar as it may caramelize suddenly.
- Once the sugar starts to brown, immediately remove from the heat so it doesn’t burn, but keep stirring.
- Add the apples to the skillet and stir to coat them well in the caramelized sugar.
- Flip the dough on top of the apples and slowly remove the parchment paper. The dough will be fragile so it’ll probably crack a little bit.
- Gently press the dough into the apples making sure all of the dough is inside the skillet.
- Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 35-45 minutes or until the dough is cooked through and golden brown. Then remove from the oven.
- Now comes the tricky part — flipping the tart out onto a plate. You’ll need a plate the same size or larger than the skillet. Place the plate upside down onto the top of the skillet. Be sure to put on oven mitts as the skillet will still be very hot. Place your fingers under the skillet and thumbs on top of the plate to secure it in place. Then, in one swift movement, flip the skillet/plate upside down. Be careful as there will probably be some liquid that will leak out (juice from the apples).
- Remove the skillet from the plate and set aside. The dough will probably be cracked a bit, and that’s ok. What this tart lacks in perfect appearance, it makes up for with delicious flavor!
- Serve the tart warm or at room temperature with coconut yogurt / coconut whipped cream / vanilla ice cream and enjoy!
