This famous dessert was invented at the beginning of the 20th century by the “Demoiselles Tatin” in their restaurant on the Loire River in France. It is caramelized sliced apples oven-baked in a skillet with the pastry on top; when done, it is turned upside-down so the crust is on the bottom and the apple slices—wonderfully brown, buttery, and glazed with caramel—remain in a design on top.

It acquired its outstanding success because it was added to the list of desserts at Maxim’s, one of the most famous Parisian restaurants at that time (it opened in 1893, during La Belle Époque).

Ingredients:

Shortcrust (quiche, tart, or pie) pastry

2 lbs of apples

½ cup of caster sugar

1 knob of butter (half a stick)

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Peel apples, prying them open into two parts, removing the core and the seeds with a spoon, and cutting each half into three segments. Pour half of the sugar into a Teflon round mould, about eight inches in diameter. Arrange the apple segments on the sugar, and pour the melted butter on top of them, adding the other half of the sugar. Put the mould on the stove top on medium high heat. (Be careful not to burn the apples.)

Cut a raw pastry circle slightly larger than the mould and make holes with a fork in several places of the pastry. Take the mould off the heat. Place the pastry disc on top of the apple segments using a rolling pin (larger than the mould), tucking in the part of the pastry that exceeds the diameter of the mould. Put the mould into the heated oven for about 35 minutes, then remove it and let it rest for 10 minutes. With a small sharp knife cut around the vertical internal side of the mould. Place your serving dish upside down on the mould and turn it over. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream—you are a chef!