Juliette’s Tarte Tatin

I’d almost forgotten how heavenly a tarte Tatin could be when I found myself sitting at the charming bistro Juliette in Williamsburg. Laden with butter and sugar, it’s a rich luxury under the guise of a refreshing fruit finish. This caramelized apple tart, invented in the late 1800s in the Hotel Tatin by the proprietress and her sister, is made by sautéing apples in butter and sugar, covering them with a puff pastry piecrust, and finishing it in the oven. The final step is to invert the pan onto a plate, resulting in the crust coming out on the bottom, exposing the brown, buttery apples.

At Juliette, $7 gets you a mini Tatin Tartlet all to yourself. The dessert is served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, only adding to the irresistibility of the dish.

It’s fairly simple to make—Julia Childs has a famously easy recipe—but ordering it out is certainly the way to go if you want to exercise any amount of control. Even a mediocre tarte Tatin in the house would disappear after a day!