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Active Time
1 hour
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Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
This dessert is a revelation. As the tomatoes cook in the caramel, they become sweet and tender but retain their clean, fresh flavor. Prepare to be blown away.
Ingredients
Makes 8 servings
Step 1
Preheat oven to 425°F. Bring large saucepan of water to boil. Cut shallow X in bottom of each tomato. Add 4 tomatoes to boiling water. Blanch tomatoes just until skins at X begin to peel back, 15 to 30 seconds. Using slotted spoon, transfer blanched tomatoes to bowl of ice water to cool quickly. Repeat with remaining tomatoes. Peel tomatoes. Cut out cores, halve lengthwise, and remove seeds.
Step 2
Spread butter over bottom of 9 1/2-inch diameter, 2- to 3-inch-deep ovenproof skillet (preferably cast-iron). Sprinkle 3/4 cup sugar over butter. Arrange tomato halves, rounded side down and close together, in concentric circles in skillet to fill completely.
Step 3
Place skillet over medium heat. Cook until sugar and butter are reduced to thickly bubbling, deep amber syrup (about 1/4 inch deep in bottom of skillet), moving tomatoes occasionally to prevent burning, about 25 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Immediately drizzle vanilla over tomatoes. Top with pastry round. Using knife, tuck in edges of pastry. Cut 2 or 3 small slits in pastry. Place skillet in oven and bake tart until pastry is deep golden brown, about 24 minutes.
Step 4
Cool tart in skillet 10 minutes. Cut around sides of skillet to loosen pastry. Place large platter over skillet. Using oven mitts as said, hold skillet and platter firmly together and invert, allowing tart to settle onto platter. Carefully lift off skillet. Rearrange any tomato halves that may have become dislodged.
Step 5
Serve tart warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.
Leave a Review
Reviews (23)
Back to TopI have been making this recipe since it was first printed in BA as part of the "tomato dinner plan." With the first attempt, my then 17-year-old son remarked that it was the best dessert he has ever tasted and asks for it as his "birthday cake" in early September. Everyone for whom I have made this special dessert over the years agrees. Mine never releases from the pan with ease and certainly is not as lovely as the pic in Bon Apetit Magazine, but it tastes great. Any hints on that removal? I serve it with a red Italian sparkler by Banfi - Brachetto d’Acqui from Piedmont, Italy. It is a remarkable combination and my guests go wild.
ruymann
Boston, MA
9/6/2016
This recipe gets a 4 fork rating, it is the most delicious, unusual, name that fruit kind of dessert. Don't let the caramel go to dark amber, remember, it still has 24 more minutes in a hot oven to further cook. It can get bitter tasting if allowed to go too dark.
Palladio
Philadelphia, PA
1/18/2015
Quite simply the best tarte tartin there is and especially when local tomatoes are at their best. My guests are often amused and confused when I serve this Guessing Game tarte and they argue over the fact that these are tomatoes.
Greg50
St. Marys, Ontario
9/3/2011
Really easy to make. I have done this at least six time now all to raving comments, everyone wants the recipe. I learned the hard way, when it says medium heat for the stovetop cooking, keep it at medium to medium-low. This recipe is well worth the time invested.
akpharmboy
Anchorage, AK
10/17/2010
Made this recipe for the first time last night and after 10 years on epicurious...this is my first review. It was that good. I'm not a huge tomato fan, and desser for me=chocolate. I was not dissapointed by a long shot. It was perfect, sweet, and the recipe was easy to follow. Messy, took a little bit, but it was fantastic!
mamagab
10/6/2010
I've made this twice and to great effect. The first time, I did not have the heat high enough and it took considerably longer to caramelize the sugar. The point to take away from this is that the final product definitely did not have a tomato taste - more like a sweet plum. The second time, I used a higher heat for caramelization and found that some tomato taste lingered, although both of my step- sons who aren't fond of tomatoes enjoyed the dessert and requested more. I did not use whipped cream with either attempt but will in the future. We consumed it more as a dessert pizza - a very innovative dish.
n10sity
Buffalo Grove, IL
9/13/2010
Amazing! Think tomato candy. Best dessert I've made in a long time.
l8eehawk
Blue Lake, CA
9/4/2010
我很好奇这个食谱的声音(番茄酱oes for dessert!), but was a little wary of the love it or hate it response by the reviewers. I brought this tart and a back up dessert (just in case!) to a dinner party. Turns out, I didn't need the back up dessert. Everyone loved the tart. The caramel had an excellent vanilla flavor, and the tomatoes took on an unexpected spiciness. The whipped cream added another unusual, but very tasty, twist to the dish. I would definitely make this again, but would reserve it for adventurous, food-loving guests.
Anonymous
Chicagoland
9/2/2010
Wow, this is really an extraordinary dessert! Very impressive and very easy to make. No way did it taste like tomatoes -- the tomato finally used like a fruit! I did have a problem getting it to release from the pan, so it was more 'rusic' looking that the photo in the magazine -- but it didn't detract from the taste. Will definitely make again.
dory92064
San Diego, CA
8/30/2010
Very strange recipe. We had to make it because you never know...uhhh.... but now we do. Tomatoes have no place in desserts. As an appetizer or light lunch, this would be good with a little tweeking. As a dessert, it is just too weird. It still tasted like tomatoes. I kept thinking it needed more cheese. There are too many good dessert options to bother with this.
bilnsam
Port Angeles, WA
8/23/2010
Oh yeah! I made this with tomatoes from our garden and penzys vanilla. OMG. Sweet, interesting, with lovely vanilla scent. This was fabulous, interesting and well worth the time and trouble. If I have garden tomatoes, I would not hesitate to make this for any guest or family member.
KatherineNesci
Tucson, Arizona
8/17/2010
This is great fun to make. It was a little sweet but my family was very pleased, especially my little tomato-hater. She said, "now this is the way to eat tomatoes". It was fun to listen to everyone guess what they were eating, they called out every red fruit you can imagine.
Anonymous
Atlanta
8/17/2010
Made this with Roma tomatoes from the farmer's market. I did peel, seed and core my tomatoes and they held up beautifully to the cooking process. I made it exactly as described except I added a pinch of Kosher salt with the vanilla. Rave reviews and I will DEFINITELY make this again.
Thibideau1
Rockford, Illinois
8/16/2010
We made this on a cottage vacation for lunch and cut back substantially on the sugar (maybe a scant 1/4 cup) and added some rosemary. The tomatoes were amazing the way they caramelized in the pan. Will make again for a light lunch w a nice salad of mixed greens, blueberries and blue cheese. Delish.
skidd
8/15/2010
The picture here is not the one which accompanied the recipe in Bon Appetit magazine. This one was taken during prep while the one in the magazine was of the finished product.
dearzee
8/9/2010
