Comments on: molly’s apple tarte tatin

By: Frankie

Frankie — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:23:50 +0000

Thanks, deb & molly! I made this for a recent dinner party … for real, live French people no less! It got rave reviews and even a round of applause. As far as they were concerned, it was super authentic. Cheers!

By: deb

deb — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:24:57 +0000

Most nonstick pans are safe to use until 475 degrees or higher, so it would be just fine.

By: nathan

nathan — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 09:16:32 +0000

I can’t believe one of the readers used a non-stick pan! The smoke was from the non-stick coating. You can’t heat a no-stick pan up like that. It’s very toxic

By: tanya

tanya — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:26:45 +0000

Fantastic recipe!

I’ve tried many Tarte Tatin recipes, but this one is the only one that works: the apples are permeated with caramel flavor and the caramel itself is just the right color and consistency.

I make this in a 12inch iron skillet and use more apples than Molly, but leave the proportions the same. I’ve made it twice: the first time the apples were a bit overcooked. So the next time I let the sugar cook in butter and almost melt before putting the apples in. This resulted in apples that were completely saturated in caramel but held their shape. Also, the second time I left the skin on, which added to the texture. Finally, I always slice a few apples relatively thin (about 1/5 inch) and when the caramel and other apples are ready to go in the oven, I cover them with these uncooked slices and then with crust, so that when the whole tarte is ready, there is some crunchiness to it (that’s Jacques Pépin’s trick).
My favorite apples to use in this recipe are Granny Smith and Styman Winesap.

So far, I have not had any problems with burning or excessive smoke (knock on wood). But I do turn the fan on whenever I make this.

Thank you, Molly and Deb, for yet another great recipe and excellent technique tutorial.

By: midori

midori — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:37:33 +0000

Deb, Molly,
Thank you so much for the incredible recipe. I just got the tarte tatin out of the oven, flipped it, and ate it.. it’s amazing. :) I made mine in a heat proof glass bowl and it worked really well I didn’t pay attention to the cooking time of the apples though, but used some sense instead ;) I’m definitely gonna make it again. By the way, I’m new here and this is the first recipe I’ve tried from your website. Deb, you’re my new star. :)

By: Heidi in DF

Heidi in DF — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:20:47 +0000

I’ve made this 3 times in the past month or so. Once with store bought puff pastry and it turned out fine. Then I decided I’d try making phyllo pastry because I’m married to a Greek and have a terrific Greek cookbook from my sister-in-law and I’m crazy…not so great because I made waaaay too much phyllo so it didn’t get baked all the way through and also because I put too many apples and pears and lots of the caramely goodness bubbled over onto the oven floor :( Then last week for my birthday I made it once more with the right amount of phyllo and was a big success with my coworkers (sometimes you just gotta take baking for your birthday into your own hands).

I love this recipe because it’s so simple and I get to use my cast iron skillet! Thanks for another winner :)

By: Kate C

Kate C — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:35:56 +0000

Oh yum. I just made this in a non-stick skillet and it turned out great without any sticking. I was pretty convinced I’d burnt it, but it ended up delicious (although I did fill my kitchen with smoke). I replaced half the sugar with brown sugar, so it was hard to see the color change, but it was still delicious. I’ve been reading your blog for a while now (though I don’t think I’ve commented before, I have turned some foodie friends and relatives into regular readers), and have never had a bad result from one of your recipes. Anyhow- congrats on the little one, and thanks for all the tasty recipes!

By: deb

deb — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:55:23 +0000

More likely it was the acidity from the apples wearing off your cast iron’s seasoning.

By: Becky D

Becky D — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:02:01 +0000

I made this, and it came out perfectly, but I think the sugar did something funny to my cast iron pan. As in, it left rust spots. Any ideas? Does this happen to anyone else? Thanks.

By: sweet tooth sarah

sweet tooth sarah — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:21:07 +0000

phew! i’m glad to read that i wasn’t the only one to burn this. i used a non-stick pan and it was actually going great until i turned the apples to cook on the other side and had the not-so-good idea to cook them for 6 minutes instead of 5 (they were not as browned as i expected) at exactly 5 minutes and 30 seconds the syrup turned black and i ended up having to toss most if it. to top it off, it happened with the in-laws over for company…. but some haagen daz vanilla saved the day along with the scraped off bits of apple that my husband salvaged. i will definately try this again though – i can tell this is a winner!!