Recipe and photo by Jeany Cronk.
When summer fruit is at its peak, this apricot tarte Tatin is the kind of dessert that makes you stop and pay attention. It feels elegant but unfussy, rich but not heavy. The caramel bubbles up around the tart apricots, turning jammy and golden under a layer of buttery pastry. Flip it out of the pan and you have something that looks like you spent hours on it—even though you didn’t.
This is one of those classic French desserts that works just as well on a weekend afternoon as it does after a dinner with friends. You don’t need special tools or complicated techniques. What you need is good fruit, a heavy pan, and a bit of confidence. Serve it warm with a spoonful of crème fraîche or a scoop of ice cream and let everyone think you’ve been baking like this for years.
This version comes from a favorite new cookbook, At Home in Provence by Jeany Cronk, that leans into the way French cooking really works at home—simple, seasonal, and always a little indulgent.
“A tarte tatin is a delicious staple in most restaurants in France. When you find fresh apricots, as I often do at the beautiful market at the Place Richelme, they can be a great alternative to apples as they lend themselves very well to being caramelised in a stickily delicious way.”
Abricot Tarte Tatin
Ingredients
- 150 g 5½ oz/scant 1¼ cups T55 flour, plus extra for dusting
- 80 g 2¾oz cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 70 ml 2¼ fl oz/ 1 /3 cup cold water
- pinch of caster superfine sugar
- pinch of salt
- 40 g 1½ oz unsalted butter
- 60 g 2 oz/generous ¼ cup caster (superfine) sugar
- 700 g 1 kg 1 lb 9 oz–2 lb 4 oz apricots, ripe but still firm
- vanilla ice cream, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the pastry the day before. Put the flour and butter into a bowl and mix by hand by gently rubbing them together until the butter is absorbed. Make a well in the centre and add the water, sugar and salt. Mix until homogeneous and smooth, then bring together into a ball. Roughly flatten it and then wrap in cling film (plastic wrap). Chill in the refrigerator overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 180°C fan (400°F).
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter and sugar over a medium heat until the mixture turns golden. Add the apricots and gently brown them for about 5 minutes – make sure they don’t turn to mush!
- Line a 26 cm (10 in) tar t tin (pan) with baking parchment and arrange the apricot halves neatly on top, cut-sides down.
- With a floured rolling pin and on a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to 3–4 mm (1/8 in) thick and 1 cm (½ in) larger than the size of your tin. Roll the pastry around the rolling pin to transfer it to the tart tin, then roll it out over the apricots. Tuck in the edges around the fruits. Prick several holes in the pastry with a fork. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
- Now for the tricky part. Place a serving plate over the tin, then quickly invert the tin to release the tart onto the plate. You can invest in a tarte tatin dish that makes this feat much easier and is a great tool to have in your kitchen.
- Serve warm on its own, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Excerpted with permission from At Home in Provence by Jeany Cronk. Published by Quadrille, 2025. All rights reserved.