Sisters Tatin cake
In the small town of Lamotte-Beuvron in the Loire Valley at the end of the 19th century, sisters Carolina and Stefani (Fania) Tatin opened the Hotel Tatin. Stefani was the cook. Legend says that one day, as Stefani was making apple cake, she suddenly realized that she had forgotten to put the batter on the bottom of the pan before adding the apples. In order not to lose money and time, she spooned the batter on top, baked it in the oven, and after taking it out, she flipped it over. But this is not the only legend. Another says that Stefani was tired and let the apples caramelize too much in the pan, so she covered them up with batter to hide the mistake. Whatever the true story may be remains a secret known only by the sisters, but one thing is clear – she was not the inventor of this type of cake. Similar cakes, known as tarte solognote (Sologne is the region where Lamotte-Beuvron is located), were already being made, but the fact that their hotel made the cake famous and delectable is incontrovertible.
The sisters were modest and did not name the cake after themselves, and while they were alive, no one called the cake tarte tatin. The name was given well after their death as this testimony, written in 1903, does not indicate the fame the cake would soon have:
“It is almost 8 p.m., and our stomachs are growling. Fortunately, right across from the train station stands the Hotel Tatin, built and outfitted with all the modern comforts for the enjoyment of Parisians who lease all the hunting estates around. The staff has been awaiting us, and the dinner menu, once read, brings forth a swell of excitement: it is extraordinarily bountiful and almost worth sharing here for the illumination of future generations; the dinner is unquestionably superb, and topped off, at our insistence, by a warm apple tart that is the specialty of the house, and might rightfully qualify for a patent...along with official endorsement, for as long as Miss Fanny Tatin minds the stoves. This incomparable treat, famous all over Sologne, is an invaluable asset to the economic geography of the region. Since it is late in the winter, it is also the last tart Tatin of the season for the hotel, which makes it taste like a slice of history! Such a luxuriant meal could only end with a glass of champagne.”*
Only after the death of the Tatin sisters in 1926 did famous French food writer Curnonsky (known as Prince des Gastronomes) name the tart after the sisters in his La France Gastronomique. The cake gained its reputation around that time, thanks mainly to the fact it was served in the most famous Parisian restaurant –Maxim’s. The story goes that the long-time owner of the restaurant, Louis Vaudable, stole the recipe from the sisters:
“I used to hunt around Lamotte-Beuvron in my youth and had discovered in a very small hotel run by elderly ladies a marvelous dessert listed on the menu under tarte solognote. I questioned the kitchen staff about its recipe, but was sternly rebuffed. Undaunted, I got myself hired as a gardener. Three days later, I was fired when it became clear that I could hardly plant a cabbage. But this was long enough to pierce the secrets of the kitchen. I brought the recipe back and put it on my own menu under "Tarte des Demoiselles Tatin.”*
The story is worthy of a Hollywood film and surely reflects the storyteller’s nature, but there is a nuance: Louis Vaudable was only three years old when the sisters decided to retire. So, it is hard to believe that he would have wandered the forests of the region or be hired as a gardener at the age of three.
Recipe
Although the precise recipe is still not clear, and we probably will never really know because the sisters never had their own TV show or published a book, but thanks to the notes made by their dear friend Marie Souchon, at least the following is known:
“Use a copper dish, without which one cannot make this delicious tart. You will also need a coal-fired stove well stocked with embers. Rest your copper dish on top, and place embers over the lid of the dish since you will need equal heat from above and below to be successful.
Recipe: Take a good chunk of butter and knead it vigorously. Spread it over the bottom of your copper dish, and cover generously with a layer of sugar. Cut up Pippin or Calvile apples, and place them carefully into your dish. Put as many layers as the dish will hold. Cover the apples with a thick layer of sugar. Separately, prepare a dough with flour, butter, and water. Roll it out as thinly as possible, about 1 millimeter [3/64"]. Cover the apples and trim the dough around the dish. Cover with the lid, which must not touch the dough. Bake as mentioned above. Once done, cover the tart with a serving dish and flip it upside down. Eat warm.”*
Although one rarely thinks about the legend of the tart as one eats a slice, there are some things that should be pondered. Think about the hot kitchen in which Stefani worked as she over-caramelized the apples or her facial expression when she realized that she has forgotten the batter or the delight of the traveller as he ate the tart made from the last apples of the season washed down by a glass of champagne. Or maybe recall Louis Vaudable’s story about the hunt for the secret and pretending to be a gardener, for not all dishes have such wonderful stories to go with them. And why not add a beautiful story to each slice of the delectable tart?
But, while we’re thinking about the true sisters Tatin recipe and the versions created by others in France and the world, we’d like to reveal a few secrets as told to us by our fantastic pastry chef Jūlija Baļicka:
Even though classic tarte tatin is prepared with apples, don’t be afraid to make it with plums, apricots, pears, or many other things
When preparing with apples, use a firm variety such as Granny Smith or any of the French varieties
You need sugar and butter to turn into the caramel in which the apples are placed. Although the classic recipe calls for placing the sugar and butter in together, Jūlija suggests first melting the sugar until it turns the colour of amber and only then adding the butter and mixing the two together
You can add vanilla to the caramel or cinnamon or any other flavour that goes with apples
“Considering the French love affair with flaky pastry, many make the tart with that and schools also teach the use of flaky pastry. But you can use short crust pastry that is place on top of the apples in caramel, just like other pastry. If you use biscuit* batter, if should be poured on top of the apples, not rolled out.
Regardless of the version, it should be baked at 180 degrees.
Jūlija’s experience with more difficult pastries (as she learned in school), the apples and caramel should be made separately, then add the pastry, and then combined and turned over
When the tart is ready, remove from the oven and wait until the caramel relaxes – that is, cool just slightly until it stops bubbling – but no longer. Place on a serving plate and turn over. The same goes for if you prepare the apples and caramel separately and the dough or batter separately. Place the cooked dough on top of the apples after they have cooled slightly and then turn over onto a serving plate. If you cool the caramel too long, it will no longer be shiny and won’t soak into the pastry enough for it to taste divine, but just sit on the top
If you decide to prepare the apple mixture and pasty separately and you’re afraid to burn the caramel, cover the apples with foil pricked with holes
*For added interest, you can prepare a cake batter that you pour over the caramelized apples and bake until ready; then cool and turn over
As Jūlija says, the hardest part in baking this tart is the turning over part.
* From www.tartetatin.org