Tim Chin is a professional cook and writer who has contributed to Serious Eats and America’s Test Kitchen. A graduate of The International Culinary Center, Tim has cooked at restaurants in New York and Boston, working at Rouge Tomate, Northern Spy, and BiSq.

Tim Chin

For a dessert that’s seemingly so simple and rustic, tarte Tatin presents some real technical challenges even for experienced bakers. Take it from Julia Child herself, who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1061&v=lOEzZR-s6SU&feature=youtu.be">infamously unmolded a soupy catastrophe</a> of apples and pastry on national television. Where do cooks go wrong? Usually trouble arises when they try to rush the process. The key to success is controlling moisture and caramelization. Apples are full of water, which can loosen the caramel sauce that’s supposed to hold everything together, and, even worse, it can sog out the pastry as it bakes. We break up the cooking process, so that every element turns out perfect: tender (but not mushy) apples that soak up a perfectly balanced caramel sauce, sitting on top of a crisp, flaky <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/perfect-pie-dough-crust">pie crust</a>.

Perfect Tarte Tatin