Peach Tarte Tatin

4.34 from 3 votes

This easy Peach Tarte Tatin is the perfect summer dessert. Caramelized peaches, buttery puff pastry, and crème fraîche whipped cream make it truly legendary

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Servings: people

Author: Gaby Dalkin

Ingredients

1 sheet store-bought puff pastry thawed
5 medium ripe peaches skin on, pitted and quartered
1 teaspoon lemon juice
⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
pinch of flaky sea salt
½ cup white sugar or brown sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

For the Crème Fraîche Whipped Cream

⅓ cup crème fraîche
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Unfold the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to smooth the creases, about 10x10 inches. Prick all over with a fork and transfer to a plate or baking sheet. Refrigerate until ready to use.
In a medium bowl, toss the peach quarters with lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Set aside.
In a tarte Tatin pan over medium heat add the sugar and let it start to melt, stirring frequently. Let cook for about 4–5 minutes until its caramel-y and smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla bean paste.
Arrange the peaches cut-side down in a single layer over the caramel. Place the chilled puff pastry over the peaches, gently tucking the edges into the sides of the pan.
Bake for 20 minutes at 400°F. Reduce the heat to 350°F and continue baking for another 10–15 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Carefully invert onto a large serving plate. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

For the Crème Fraîche Whipped Cream

Chill the bowl and whisk of a stand mixer in the freezer for 5–10 minutes. Place all ingredients into the chilled bowl. Whisk on low speed and gradually increase to medium-high until soft peaks form. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

Notes

Pick peaches that are ripe but still firm. Overripe peaches release too much liquid during baking, which can break down the caramel and make the pastry soggy. You want fruit that yields slightly to pressure but still holds its shape when quartered and cooked.
Keep your puff pastry cold until the very last second. Cold puff pastry goes into the oven with distinct layers of fat and dough intact. If it warms up before baking, the butter melts into the dough instead of creating steam, and you lose all that flakiness.
Toss the peaches in the spices and lemon juice right before you need them, not in advance. Letting the peaches sit too long in lemon juice and sugar draws out their moisture prematurely. You want that liquid to release inside the pan, not in the bowl.
Stir the sugar constantly while it melts and watch it like a hawk. Caramel goes from perfect to burnt in under a minute. Stirring helps it melt evenly and prevents hot spots on the bottom of the pan from scorching while the rest is still pale.
Remove the pan from heat before adding butter and vanilla bean paste. Adding cold butter to actively boiling caramel causes violent bubbling and can seize the sugar. Pulling it off the heat first lets you incorporate the butter smoothly into a glossy, stable caramel.
Arrange the peaches cut-side down and pack them tightly. Peaches shrink as they cook, so a tight arrangement ensures you end up with full coverage on the finished tart. Gaps in the fruit layer mean gaps in the presentation once you flip.
Tuck the puff pastry edges down into the sides of the pan like you mean it. Tucking the pastry creates a wall that holds the fruit in place during baking and gives you a neat border once the tart is inverted. Loose edges puff up unevenly and can curl away from the pan.
Let the tart rest for exactly 5 minutes before flipping, not longer. Resting lets the caramel thicken just enough to cling to the fruit without running everywhere. If you wait too long, the caramel cools further and can stick to the pan instead of releasing cleanly.
Flip the tart with one fast, confident motion using a large plate and oven mitts. Hesitating mid-flip causes the tart to shift inside the pan and the fruit arrangement falls apart. Hot caramel also drips during the flip, so oven mitts are non-negotiable, not optional.
Chill your mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer for at least 5 minutes before making the crème fraîche whipped cream. Fat whips better when cold. A warm bowl raises the temperature of the cream mixture and causes it to take longer to reach peaks, which can result in an overworked, grainy texture.
Start the whipped cream on low speed and gradually increase to medium-high. Starting on high speed immediately incorporates large uneven air bubbles, resulting in a coarser texture. Building speed gradually produces smaller, more stable bubbles and a silkier final cream.
Serve this tart warm, and plan to finish it the same day. The pastry bottom starts absorbing moisture from the caramel and fruit as it sits, and by the next day you have a soft crust instead of a crisp one. Tarte Tatin is not a make-ahead situation.

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