🍎 The Accidental Dessert, the Story of Tarte Tatin

There's a hotel in the Loire Valley that still serves the dessert that made it famous. The Hôtel Tatin, in the small town of Lamotte-Beuvron, has been there since the 1890s. And it accidentally changed French pastry forever.

What actually happened

The Tatin sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline ran the hotel together. One day in the kitchen, the story goes, Stéphanie was making a traditional apple tart and got distracted. The apples went into the pan with butter and sugar but no pastry. Rather than start again, she placed the pastry on top and put the whole thing in the oven.

When she flipped it out: caramelised apples on top, pastry beneath, golden and slightly sticky and deeply, deeply good.

A guest, reportedly a hunter, loved it so much he told the chef Auguste Escoffier, who added it to his menus. And from there, Tarte Tatin went everywhere.

How to serve it

Warm. Always warm. A spoonful of crème fraîche alongside, its slight tang cuts through the sweetness perfectly. Some people add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. We won't argue.

The key is to let it rest for a few minutes after flipping before you serve it. The caramel needs a moment to settle. It's worth the wait for the best Tarte Tatin.