Chef Norbert Tarayre Reveals a Lighter, Delicious Tarte Tatin Recipe Without Traditional Pastry!

When making a Tarte Tatin, do you lean towards puff pastry or shortcrust? It’s a tough choice: you enjoy the flakiness of puff pastry, but worry about its high butter content. Shortcrust is less fatty, but you feel its denser texture weighs down the dish… Good news, Chef Norbert Tarayre has discovered a fantastic alternative: it’s twice as crispy as traditional puff pastry and much lighter than any other crust!

In his YouTube video, Norbert Tarayre took on the challenge of making a staple of French baking: the renowned Tarte Tatin. However, as he was about to start the recipe, he realized he had no pie crust! How does one make a pie without a crust? “Improvisation!“, answers Norbert Tarayre. To create a quick, light, and crunchy pie base, the chef ingeniously uses phyllo dough. It sounds simple, but it’s quite a clever idea! He begins by cutting six phyllo sheets into circles to fit a pie ring. Then, he lightly brushes each sheet with melted butter using a pastry brush. He layers them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. He covers it all with another sheet of parchment, places a weight on top (another baking sheet or a large dish, for example), and bakes it at 350°F for 10 minutes. Finally, he dusts the top with a thin layer of powdered sugar and bakes it for an additional 2 minutes. “This will caramelize it and give us an even crispier crust“, the chef tantalizes. All that’s left is to add the caramelized apples on this improvised pie base! Its crispy and airy texture will perfectly contrast with the richness of the candied apples. The only problem? You might be asked for seconds…

Neither puff nor shortcrust, Norbert Tarayre’s approach shakes up the conventional Tatin norms. With just a few simple tweaks and a bit of daring, the classic dessert becomes lighter without sacrificing its charm. It goes to show that in cooking, sometimes the unexpected leads to the most delightful outcomes.