Super Easy Gluten-Free Upside Down Apple Pie (Tarte Tatin)

With the holidays approaching, are you looking for a super easy gluten-free apple pie that is extremely delicious and can be prepared well in advance? I just developed this gluten-free upside down apple pie (or tarte tatin), which is a huge success with my family. Everyone just loves it. And for me, it is perfect if I have guests, because it is so easy to make and the dough can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

So in the morning of the day my guests arrive, I quickly prepare the filling (which usually takes me no longer than 15 minutes) and place the rolled out dough circle on top. And that’s basically it. Then, when needed, up in the oven for about 50 minutes, plus 10 minutes cooling out time. I serve it still warm with whipped cream, creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream. It is incredibly delicious! Enjoy!

Filling for apple crumb pie (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

For the filling, I am always looking for really tart green apples and I generally find this quality in Granny Smith apples. The tartness of the apples, combined with a little bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice, gives a very nice contrast to the sweetness of the caramel, which is made of sugar and butter.

Teff flour, brown rice flour and tapioca starch (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

So far, I find the best flours for a sweet gluten-free pie crust to be a combination of teff flour, whole grain brown rice flour and tapioca starch. Teff flour has a slightly nutty taste and its jelly-like consistency when combined in a dough makes it a very good ingredient for pie crusts in my opinion. Also, it has a less strong distinctive flavor like for example buckwheat flour.

Brown rice flour helps for a more sticky consistency of the dough which helps better process the dough when rolling it out. I could, of course, also use white rice flour, but I like to use a more healthy flour which I find in whole grain brown rice flour.

Tapioca starch is one of my favorite starches as it has a very neutral taste and is a very good binding agent which helps making the dough smoother and therefore better to work with. Also, it helps baked goods become light and fluffy.

Binding agents, sugar and salt (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

As substitutes for the lack of gluten in gluten-free flours I used one tablespoon of psyllium seed husk powder and one teaspoon of locust bean gum powder. Instead of locust bean gum powder you can, of course, also use xanthan powder as binding agent. Also, sugar and a pinch of salt are needed.

Psyllium seed husk powder can bind a lot of water. Because of the moisture kept in the dough it develops a smooth consistency and therefore the dough is much easier to form and roll out. The use of locust bean gum powder adds to this effect as it too has strong swelling and water absorption capacities.

Liquid ingredients for apple crumb pie (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

Finally, water, egg and a little bit of apple vinegar as “wet ingredients” are required. The egg is a natural binding agent. And apple cider vinegar as acidic liquid is said to make the dough easier to roll out – and you can not taste it in the end product, which I think is important.

Dry ingredients for apple crumb pie (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

First, I always mix all “dry ingredients”, i.e. teff flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, psylliums seed husk powder, locust bean gum powder (optionally xanthan powder), sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Grating of butter (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

Then, I grate the cold butter with a large enough grater directly into the bowl with the mixed dry ingredients.

Mix liquid ingredients and then add to butter-flour crumbs (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

Now I use my finger tips to quickly work the small butter pieces into the flour-mix to get coarse flour-butter crumbs. Optionally, I could use a pastry blender or a food processor.

Then I quickly whisk the wet dough ingredients and pour them into the bowl with the flour-butter crumbs.

Gluten-free dough (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

I use a big wooden spoon to quickly combine all ingredients and form a smooth, sticky dough. The psyllium seed husk powder in the dough helps over time to get the excess stickiness out of the dough.

Take dough out of bowl and bring it into a square shape (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

Then I take the dough out of its bowl and put it on a surface dusted with gluten-free flour. I knead the dough a little bit with my hands and add a little bit of flour, if necessary, to bring it into a nice, square shape.

Wrap dough into a plastic bag and put in the fridge (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

Finally, I wrap the dough in plastic and put it in the refrigerator for at least one hour so that it can rest and harden.

Make caramel with sugar and butter (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

In the meanwhile, I turn on the oven (210 °Celsius/ 410 ° Fahrenheit) and start to prepare the filling. I beginn with the caramel, which I prepare directly in the enameled cast-iron pie dish. Caramel is suprisingly easy to make. You just need to let the butter melt, add sugar and heat it over medium heat. In only a couple of minutes the butter-sugar-mix starts to turn golden-brownish. The only thing that is important to remember is that you need to stir consistently. Otherwise, it can happen that the mixture still looks whitish-yellow on top but is already dark brown at the bottom.

Peel and quarter apples and remove the core (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

Now it is time to prepare the apples. You just need to peel and quarter them and remove the core. Then place them in the round pie dish (on top of the caramel) and sprinkle them with freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Roll out dough and cut into a circle (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

When the dough is ready, I take it out of the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap and place it on a dusted surface. I put some more flour on top of the dough, take my rolling pin and roll it out in a circle of about 5 mm (≈ 1/4-inch) thickness. Then I cut out a circle which equals the dimension of the pie dish.

Place apples on caramel, sprinkle with lemon juice and put dough round on top (gluten-free upside down apple pie/ tarte tatin).

I carefully take the dough circle and place it on top of the apples, pressing the edges carefully down so that some kind of plate emerges when you turn the apple pie upside down at the very end.

Now, I put the apple pie in the oven (top rack) and let it bake. After about 50 minutes, I take the apple pie out of the oven. I gently loosen the edge of the pie, put a big plate on top of the pie dish and quickly turn it upside down. Now, the delicious caramelized apples should be on top and the crunchy pie crust at the bottom of the apple pie.

I serve this wonderful, super easy dish still warm with either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy your very delicious gluten-free upside down apple pie!

My Recipe:
Gluten-Free Upside Down Apple Pie
(Tarte Tatin)

Prep time:	Rest time:	Bake time:	Total time:	Yield:
20 mins	1 hour	50 mins	2 hours 10 mins	6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

GLUTEN-FREE DOUGH (28 cm/ 11-In. Single Crust Pie)

Dry Ingredients:

120 g [≈ 1 cup minus 2 TBS] teff flour (optional: buckwheat flour)
50 g [≈ 1/2 cup minus 2 TBS] whole grain brown rice flour
40 g [≈ 1/3 cup plus 1 TBS] tapioca starch
70 g [≈ 1/3 cup] granulated sugar
1 TBS psyllium seed husk powder
1 tsp. locust bean gum powder (or xanthan powder)
1/8 tsp. salt

Cold butter:

140 g [≈ 1 stick plus 2 TBS] unsalted butter, grated or cut in small pieces

Wet Ingredients:

1 medium egg
100 ml [≈ 1/2 cup] ice-cold water
1 TBS apple cider vinegar

FILLING:

130 g [≈ 1/2 cup plus 2TBS] granulated sugar
30 g [≈ 2 TBS] unsalted butter
6 big green tart apples (e.g. Granny Smith)
5 tsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Serve with whipped cream, creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.

DIRECTIONS

1. Make dough: Mix all “dry” dough ingredients in a large bowl. Add grated cold butter and quickly work small butter pieces into the flour-mix to get coarse flour-butter crumbs. Use your finger tips, a pastry blender or a food processor.
2. Stir “wet ingredients” in a separate small bowl and add to rest of dough ingredients. Mix thoroughly until dough shows a smooth structure.
3. Let rest: Take dough out of the mixing bowl, form into a square shape, wrap in plastic and put in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
4. Preheat oven to 210 °C (≈ 410 °F).
5. Make filling: put butter and sugar in a round, enameled iron-cast pie form and heat it slowly until it caramelizes (stir consistently).
6. Peel and quarter apples and remove core. Place apple quarters with their round parts on the caramel. Sprinkle apple quarters evenly with freshly squeezed lemon-juice.
7. Take dough out of the refrigerator and roll out evenly into a circle of 28 cm (≈ 11-in.). Either dust dough on both sides with gluten-free flour or place between two sheets of parchment paper.
8. Cut out a circle that fits the pie dish and place the dough circle on top of the apples.
9. Bake: Place apple pie on top rack in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes.
10. Take pie out of the oven and turn upside down so that the caramelized apples are on top and the pie crust is at the bottom.
11. Serve apple pie warm with either whipped cream, creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.
12. Enjoy your very delicious gluten-free upside down apple pie!

Tips & Tricks

Even if the gluten-free pie dough may seem a bit sticky right after mixing all the ingredients this poses no problem as the psyllium seed husk powder in the dough absorbs excess liquids. Also, the dough gets a much harder consistency when cooled in the refrigerator.
The gluten-free dough may be a bit crumbly when rolled out. Simply fix (“glue”) the torn areas with water.
Use an enameled cast-iron pie dish to ensure a high enough heat for making the caramel on the stove and then have the apples caramelized in the oven. Also, the enameled surface helps the apple pie to easily come out of the dish when turned upside down after baking.

NOTES:

g = gram
ml = milliliter
TBS = tablespoon = 15 ml
tsp. = teaspoon = 5 ml
1 cup = 1 cup [US] = 235 ml = 16 tablespoons (TBS)
1 stick of butter = 1/2 cup = 113 g (= 4 oz. = 8 TBS. = 24 tsp.)
1 inch (in or “) = 2.54 centimeters (cm) = 25.4 millimeters (mm)
1 liter = 1,000 ml = 1.0567 US quarts (liquid)