The Genius Upside-Down Pastry Hack That's Taking Over TikTok

If your TikTok's "For You" page is full of mouthwatering recipes, you've probably seen this neat trend. Maybe you were skeptical when you first saw a creator spoon and spread honey straight out of the jar and onto a sheet pan (even if it was covered in parchment paper). What kind of burnt, sticky mess was coming?

But this trend is fairly mind-blowing. The method, which is taking TikTok by storm, is effectively making little, individual, freeform tartes Tatin. It is as fun as it is genius.

Either sweet or savory filling is cooked face-down on a sheet pan, often prepped with a smear of honey or oil and vinegar, depending on the filling's flavor profile. The filling cooks by searing atop the hot sheet pan and by steaming underneath the puff pastry's crust, which is allowed to rise without getting weighed down by soggy, heavy filling. By the time the bake comes out of the oven, the filling and the puff pastry have both cooked, fused together, and are far more beautiful than their easy preparation should merit (especially compared to the often tedious arrangement of filling in a true tarte Tatin).

The first thing to note is the order everything is arranged in. The metal of a sheet pan will transfer heat more quickly than the air, which means anything touching the pan will cook more quickly than anything not touching it. Putting honey down first, as @lilyghodrati does for her caramelized honey and nectarine treats, gives honey the chance to caramelize. Fructose and glucose, the two primary sugars in honey, caramelize at 230 and 320 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. Contact with the hot sheet pan, even through parchment paper, will aid in caramelizing the honey without drying out (or worse, burning) the other elements.

Sealing in the filling — here, nectarines — with the puff pastry creates a steamy environment for the filling to cook in. Critically, the slices of nectarine aren't too thick here, so they do cook all the way through, even when layered so prettily.

@lilyghodrati

Caramelised Honey & Nectarine pastries 🍯 #honey #nectarine #pastry #pastries #patisserie #puffpastry #caramelised #bake #baking #sweet #snack #foodhack #EasyRecipe #Recipe #eats #food #FoodTok #Foodie #fy #fyp #foryou #foryoupage

♬ Sleep Walk – Santo and Johnny

Puff pastry is a laminated dough. It is many layers of dough separated by layers of fat, most often butter. The butter melts in the oven, creating steam. The steam pushes the layers of dough up, creating rise. Because the puff pastry is layered on top, there's nothing impeding this rise. As long as it's kept cold for as long as possible before it hits the oven, you should get a good puff every time.

You can, of course, make this treat just like @lilyghodrati does. Smooth down some honey, layer nectarines, drizzle with more honey, and top with puff pastry. Cook at 355 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes. Or you can make this as an untraditional version of the traditional tarte Tatin, with sugar or honey and apple slices.

You can break from using fruit as the focus and create a Danish-pastry-inspired version with a bit of fruit jam topped by lots of sweetened cream cheese. Or make an open-faced version of this pumpkin cream cheese Danish. You could do as TikTok creator @rotiibrown does and make a sweet-potato-pie version. Or you could make it with thinly sliced lemons and plenty of ricotta. Brie cheese and some pears. The world is your pastry.

@rotiibrown

Easy baking is the only baking for me. 🥧 #cookingtok #pietiktok #foryou #dessertrecipe

♬ Mind Yo Business – Lakeyah

But don't stop at sweet versions! Give savory versions a try, too. Drizzle some olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar then put down a cross-section slice of onion. Or reimagine this rustic grape, feta, and caramelized onion galette. Try potatoes and gruyere with fresh thyme. Tomatoes and whipped feta. Asparagus and goat cheese. Eggplant. The possibilities are truly endless.