Crabapple Tarte Tatin
This morning I:
Woke up dreaming of Aretha Franklin in slippers.
Fumbled around in the dark without contact lenses to slice my newly pickled crabapples.
Burned a batch of caramel making tarte tatin.
Also burned the tip of my index finger.
Got a few crabapples in the face trying to reach the unreachable.
Spent 10 unsuccessful minutes in pursuit of a wasp in my kitchen.
Called the school to excuse my sick and coughing kid.
Put my mascara on, then sneezed.
I also:
Managed to bake a wee tarte tatin just in time. And drove to CBC with it steaming up my windows.
Discovered a new use for the tinytart apples about to start falling off my tree. Using them almost whole.
And ate tarte tatin for breakfast.
Crabapple Tarte Tatin

Preheat the oven to 400°. Stem and halve your crabapples; if you like, cut out their cores.
In a heavy ovenproof or cast iron skillet cook the sugar, butter and honey over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes, until it turns smooth and golden. Place enough apples to cover the bottom of the pan into the hot caramel and cook for another 2-3 minutes. (Pack them tightly - they'll shrink.) Remove from heat and turn the apples cut-side up using tongs.
Roll the pastry out until it’s a little larger in diameter than the skillet(s); cover the apples and tuck in the edge of the pastry. Cut a few slits in the top and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the apples bubble around the edges.
Carefully invert the tarte tatin onto a plate while it’s still warm. Serve with whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°. Stem and halve your crabapples; if you like, cut out their cores.
In a heavy ovenproof or cast iron skillet cook the sugar, butter and honey over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes, until it turns smooth and golden. Place enough apples to cover the bottom of the pan into the hot caramel and cook for another 2-3 minutes. (Pack them tightly - they'll shrink.) Remove from heat and turn the apples cut-side up using tongs.
Roll the pastry out until it’s a little larger in diameter than the skillet(s); cover the apples and tuck in the edge of the pastry. Cut a few slits in the top and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the apples bubble around the edges.
Carefully invert the tarte tatin onto a plate while it’s still warm. Serve with whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup.
What?! Brilliant. I thought I was getting pretty good at multi-tasking, but this takes the, ahem, tarte tatin. Looks delish! Hope the sniffles have moved on…
I swear Tarte Tatin is my favourite food group. That caramel! Those apples! Well done, my friend.
Rustic yet decadent! Dreamily sweet and gooey; just the thing for an almost-fall morning, with a latte on the deck. You are frugal and inventive at the same time! (I never know what to do with my falling crab apples!) Now I do.
Oh my.
Wow! You work in the wee dark hours of the morning more than I do all day!
But, really, you need to pitch those glasses for new ones or pause to pop in your contacts…… that’s Aretha, not Anita Franklin :*)
ARETHA! Yes, it is. Not sure whether I can blame that on autocorrect or not.
Blame it on autocorrect 🙂
I wonder if Aretha has ever made tarte tatin out of crab apples?
I made this last night for dinner with friends and it was more delicious than I could have ever imagined! I never thought crabapples could taste this good The maple whipped cream really makes it.
I made this yesterday Julie and it was fantastic. Easy and delicious and another way to use up the million crabapples I have. Thank you for the great recipe!
Yay! It’s a crazy year for crabapples, isn’t it??