Ingredients
- 180 ml Quebec maple syrup (dark, robust)
- 6 firm apples (Cortland or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, quartered
- 80 g unsalted butter
- 1 sheet all-butter puff pastry (250 g), chilled
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of fleur de sel
Method
- Preheat oven to 190 °C (375 °F). Melt butter in a 26 cm oven-safe skillet over medium heat.
- Pour maple syrup over butter; cook without stirring 5–7 min until mixture thickens to a light caramel consistency and turns amber. Add cinnamon and fleur de sel.
- Arrange apple quarters tightly in the pan cut-side up; cook 10 min over medium heat, turning once gently.
- Drape puff pastry over apples, tucking edges down around the fruit inside the pan.
- Bake 25–30 min until pastry is deeply golden and juices bubble at edges.
- Cool 10 min, then invert onto a serving plate. Spoon any syrup left in pan over apples.
Conversion and rationale
Original sweetener (classic version): 200 g granulated white sugar (dry caramel method)
Conversion used: Replace dry-caramel sugar with 180 ml dark maple syrup cooked briefly with butter — no water needed, caramel stage reached faster. Apples release less liquid so slight reduction in pan is sufficient. Oven unchanged at 190 °C; pastry browns normally.
Why Quebec maple syrup: Maple syrup eliminates the risky dry-caramel step, making tarte Tatin more accessible while delivering a richer, more complex apple-caramel flavour profile rooted in Quebec's seasonal harvest tradition.
General rule: 1 cup (250 ml) sugar ≈ 3/4 cup (180 ml) maple syrup; reduce liquids by 45–60 ml per cup of syrup and lower oven by 15 °C. Substitution calculator →