Apricot Tarte Tatin
After stumbling upon a gorgeous bunch of sweet apricots at my local farmer’s market, I just knew I had to make this apricot tarte tatin. Caramelized apricots on a bed of golden pastry, this tart is sure to be a seasonal favorite.
Apricot Tarte Tatin
Apricots generally come into season during the month of May and can be found ripe and ready for eating throughout the summer. What were once hard, sour, yellow fruits are now slightly soft, sweet, orange jewels.
Like apples and plums, apricots are a fantastic fruit to make a tarte tatin with. They’re beautiful and scrumptious, and their size is just right for arranging into a tart.
Pastry
To make a tarte tatin, in general, you need 3 elements: fruit, caramel sauce, and pastry. Whether you decide to make your own pastry or not is completely up to you.
If I’m having an afternoon baking session, I’ll generally make my own. If the tart is a solution to a need for a quick dessert, I’ll use a sheet of store-bought pastry.
Caramel Sauce
The caramel sauce is really just sugar that’s been heated in a pan of melted butter until dissolved and amber in color.
If I’m going the super easy route, I’ll simply add my fruit to the oven-safe pan that has my hot caramel sauce in it. The pastry will be added on top of the fruit and the pan will go into the oven.
If I’m entertaining and want my dessert to look just a tad neater and presentable, I’ll pour the caramel sauce into a cake pan, arrange the fruit on top of the sauce, then tuck the pastry round on top of the fruit and into the pan.
The apricot tarte tatin that you see here was assembled in a cake pan before it was baked. That’s how you get those ruffled edges on the pastry.
To Serve
The apricot tarte tatin needs to cool before it’s served. While you serve it slightly warm, just make sure you don’t serve it straight out of the oven. For one, the fruit will still be a bit too juicy and messy to cut through.
Secondly, caramelized fruit can be too hot to safely consume right away without burning your tongue. Instead, once your tart has finished baking, immediately flip it out onto your serving plate. Let the tart rest on the plate for about 30 minutes. The aroma will be intoxicating, but try to resist!
Once it has cooled, you’ll also have an easier time cutting and serving the tart to your guests. I suggest serving this apricot tarte tatin with some vanilla bean ice cream for the ultimate treat.
Apricot Tarte Tatin
An upside down tart of caramelized apricots on a bed of golden pastry.
Ingredients
- 6 apricots, cores removed and sliced in half
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 sheet of pastry, (puff pastry or pie crust)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Melt the butter in a 9 or 10-inch skillet. Once melted, sprinkle the sugar all over the pan. Don't stir; simply let the sugar warm over medium-high heat until dissolved.
- Once the sugar has turned an amber color, immediately remove the skillet from the heat. Pour the sauce into a 9-inch cake pan. If your skillet is oven-safe, you can also leave the caramel sauce in the pan.
- Arrange the apricot halves in a radial pattern on top of the sauce, either in the cake pan or in the skillet. Cut out a 9 inch circle from your pastry sheet, and place the pastry on top of the fruit. Use a rubber spatula to tuck the edges of the pastry into the pan. Use a fork to gently prick a handful of spots in the pastry to let out steam once its baking.
- Bake the tart for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Once the tart has finished baking, immediately flip the tart out onto a serving plate. To do so, use oven mitts to place the plate on top of the pan or skillet, then holding the two items pressed together, flip over in one swift motion. Any fruit that is stuck to the pan or skillet can simply be scooped up and placed back onto the tart. Let cool for 30 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 6 ServingsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 282
