The best recipes come to the table with a story behind them. Tarte tatin, the classic French caramelized apple tart, has more than one story to tell. The upside-down tart has been both credited to an entire region of France and to an absent-minded yet brilliant baker. Whichever origin story you find more appealing, the tarte tatin is a beloved French dessert—and the inspiration for Le Creuset’s very own heritage Tarte Tatin Dish. A distinctive piece with culinary heritage, the Traditional Round Tarte Tatin Dish is ideal for baking its eponymous tart, as well as pies, pastries, pizza, quiches, frittatas and more. Every time you bring the Tarte Tatin to the table, you serve up a story.
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Anatomy of the Iconic Apple Tart
Tarte tatin is a classic French apple tart that first appeared in the late 19th century. The pastry features a base of sliced apples caramelized slowly in sugar and butter, then covered with a round of pâte brisée and baked. After browning, the tart is inverted while still warm: presenting the beautiful, caramelized apples on top and flaky crust on the bottom. Over the years, chefs took the method popularized in this recipe and tried it with other fruits and vegetables, experimenting with sweet and savory applications. Tarte tatin came to mean both the legendary apple upside down tart and the method of slow-cooking fruit or vegetables on the stove, finishing with pastry crust and inverting to serve. Nothing tops the classic, however; if you’ve never made an apple tarte tatin, our Salted Caramel Tarte Tatin is an excellent recipe for your first try. The elegant, salted caramel offers a lovely counterbalance to sweet-tart apples.
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The True Tale of Tarte Tatin
While some historians argue that tarte tatin was an ancient specialty of the Sologne region in France’s beautiful Loire Valley, others hold to a more colorful version of the story. They pin the creation of the tart to a pair of sisters—Caroline and Stéphanie Tatin—who ran an inn and restaurant in Lamotte-Beuvron in the late 1800s. Legend holds that Stéphanie, the sister responsible for all the cooking, forgot to put a pie crust on the bottom of her apple pie. Some versions blame this mistake on a hectic day in the kitchen, others on Stéphanie getting a bit distracted after flirting with a hotel guest. Either way, when she realized her mistake, she quickly topped the cooked apples with pastry crust, baked as usual and then flipped it over to serve. The perfectly caramelized apple tart became a wild success, spreading far beyond the walls of Hotel Tatin. Today, you can enjoy many versions of this classic French tart all over the world—including savory versions, like our recipe for a Tomato and Cheddar Tarte Tatin.
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Crafted for Perfection: Heritage Tarte Tatin Dish
While the famous French dessert inspired the design of our heritage Tarte Tatin, the cooking vessel proves to be an incredibly versatile addition to your kitchen line-up. Our Traditional Round Tarte Tatin Dish is crafted in our signature enameled cast iron for superior heat distribution and retention and easy release—ideal for both perfecting caramelization while you sauté and keeping warm until ready to flip and serve. The shallow design of the dish also makes it your go-to for baking quiche, pastries, frittata and even pizza. Wide inverted handles are designed to effortlessly flip the dish for beautiful serving table-side. Christen your Tarte Tatin by making a classic, like the apple-featured salted caramel tarte tatin, but don’t stop there. Peak season summer fruits like cherries and peaches offer a fun spin on the tart, while savory versions make a lovely brunch or lunch addition.
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