As the peaches simmer in the butter and sugar over the stove, they absorb a delicious caramel sauce as well as release their juices, giving the sauce a hit of peach flavor. You don’t have to prepare it in a separate skillet–this peach tarte tatin is a one-pan dessert!
What is a Tarte Tatin?
Tarte tatin is a French upside-down sweet pastry that starts with butter and sugar at the bottom of the skillet to form a caramel sauce. Fruit is added to complete the filling, then it is topped with the crust and inverted after baking.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup dark rum
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4-6 yellow peaches (firm-ripe) – halved, pitted and peeled
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry – thawed
How to Make it
- Preheat. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Cook the sauce. Add brown sugar, butter, rum, vanilla and salt to an 8” to 9″ cast iron skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture starts to thicken and darken (about 8 minutes). Be careful not to burn it.
- Add peaches. Lower heat to medium-low and add the peaches (cut side down) to the skillet. Use enough peach halves to fill up the bottom of the pan in one layer. Cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Take the skillet off the heat.
- Top with puff pastry. Unroll the puff pastry sheet. Cut out a circle that is about 9” in diameter. Place the puff pastry round on top of the peaches and tuck edges into the pan.
- Bake. Bake in the preheated oven until the pastry is golden and puffed, 35–40 minutes.
- Cool. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
- Invert the Tarte Tatin onto a serving dish. Run a butter knife along the edge of the pastry to separate it from the skillet. With oven mitts, hold the serving dish on top of the skillet and carefully flip it all over. It should release with a couple of gentle shakes.
- Serve. Dig in! It can be served with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
The sugar and butter caramelize the peaches while they’re cooking so you don’t have to take any extra steps. Just cook the peaches, add the pastry crust, bake and flip over the cake with one swift maneuver. Grab a fork and dig into the sweet caramelized peaches with a flaky crust underneath. A scoop of vanilla ice cream adds a cool, creamy topping to the warm, softened fruit.
Tips & Tweaks
You can serve your tarte tatin however you want, but French tradition insists that you serve it warm and fresh out of the skillet with a scoop of ice cream. If you wait for the cake to cool completely, the ice cream won’t melt as nicely into the pastry and won’t provide the desired temperature contrast.
Flipping over the pan is simple, but it takes a little finesse:
- First, slide a knife around the edge of the pan to separate the tarte tatin from the skillet.
- Put on a pair of oven mitts, in case the skillet is still hot. Then, lay the serving dish on top of the skillet.
- Hold the plate against the skillet and flip the pan over. Your pastry will slide out onto the dish.
- If it doesn’t come out right away, tap on the bottom of the skillet. Check to make sure that the crust has loosened first, so the cake doesn’t fall apart.
Storage
This tarte tatin is best served when it has been cooled for about 30 minutes out of the oven; still warm but not hot. It can be refrigerated for up to 3 days in an airtight container, but be sure to reheat it in the oven for best results. It can be frozen for up to 2 months and then reheated in the oven from frozen.
Is this your first time making a peach tarte tatin? Let us know how it went and share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Peach Tarte Tatin Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup dark rum
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4-6 yellow peaches - halved, pitted and peeled
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry - thawed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Add brown sugar, butter, rum, vanilla and salt to an 8” to 9" cast iron skillet.1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon butter, 1/4 cup dark rum, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture starts to thicken and darken (about 8 minutes). Be careful not to burn it.
- Lower heat to medium-low and add the peaches (cut side down) to the skillet. Use enough peach halves to fill up the bottom of the pan in one layer.4-6 yellow peaches
- Cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Take the skillet off the heat.
- Unroll the puff pastry sheet. Cut out a circle that is about 9” in diameter.
- Place the puff pastry round on top of the peaches and tuck edges into the pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the pastry is golden and puffed, 35–40 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
- To invert the Tarte Tatin onto a serving dish: run a butter knife along the edge of the pastry to separate it from the skillet. With oven mitts, hold the serving dish on top of the skillet and carefully flip it all over. It should release with a couple of gentle shakes.
- Dig in! It can be served with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Equipment
Nutrition
Nutrition information on In the Kitch is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may not include toppings and/or sauces.
Hungry for more? Try our Pumpkin Galette