The Secret To A Good Tarte Tatin According To Andrew Zimmern - Exclusive

Tarte Tatin is one of the great classic desserts. A rich French apple confection originally developed by the Tatin sisters, it consists of homemade caramel, halved apples, and pastry. It requires multiple cooking methods, and at the end, it is flipped onto a plate and presented with the apples facing up. It's a decadent yet cozy treat — and it's also chef Andrew Zimmern's favorite homemade dessert. He has been making it for decades and has served it at home and on restaurant menus.

Zimmern knows a well-made dessert when he sees one — he has traveled the world, eating his way through in his series "Bizarre Foods," and is now guest judging on the first full season of Magnolia Network's "Silos Baking Competition." We caught up with him for an exclusive interview to find out what the secret is to making a good tarte Tatin, and he did not disappoint. The key is simple but effective: "Vigilance is required with tarte Tatin."

When Andrew Zimmern says vigilance, he means it. He tells those who are making a tarte Tatin "not [to leave] the pan until it goes in the oven." He describes it as a process similar to making scrambled eggs: "You don't start to make scrambled eggs and then run into the garage to get something." There are so many components to making the tarte Tatin that walking away will be catastrophic to the end result.

Additionally, Zimmern knows that perfecting the final flip at the end can be difficult — "Inverting it and smoothing it requires some skill and practice." That being said, once again, he suggests that people keep watching others do it, and in particular, watch the video he provides with his recipe, demonstrating how to flip it correctly. "I do believe with the video, anyone can do it the first time." Much like David Rose in "Schitt's Creek" when it was time to fold in the cheese for an enchilada, sometimes you need a visual demonstration, not just a description.

While this can all seem intimidating, Zimmern wants everyone to feel confident; just remember patience. "Standing there for that hour while it's doing everything before that is very, very important."

Of course, there is one other key component that can make or break this dish, and that is the star of the show: apples. Even Andrew Zimmern can't save a dish made with the wrong apples. Tarte Tatin is "one of the few sweets that I know I can replicate perfectly at any time, anywhere, unless I have the wrong apple varieties that get too soft."

So what does he recommend? "Any of the strong baking apples — Haralsons, Cortlands will do." However, Zimmern has one other apple that he says works well, and this is a controversial pick — the much-maligned red delicious apple. According to him, "I bristle even saying that, but sometimes people go to their local supermarket. They don't have baking varieties readily available, so I've tested it with red delicious. It works perfectly." Despite its name, red delicious apples are notoriously not delicious. But they stand up to the multiple cooks of tarte Tatin, bring enough flavor, and, when paired with the caramel and pastry, deliver a perfect dessert.

New episodes of "Silos Baking Competition" air on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on Magnolia Network and stream the same day on MAX and discovery+.