Why does my pommes Anna fall apart when I turn it out?

Usually because the potatoes were rinsed (the binding starch is gone) or sliced too thick or unevenly. Skip the rinse, slice 2 mm on a mandoline, and press the layers as you build.

What pan should I use for pommes Anna if I have no cast iron?

A nonstick skillet with an oven-safe handle is the most forgiving: it heats evenly and releases cleanly. Cast iron works if generously buttered.

How many layers should pommes Anna have, and how tall is it?

Classically 3 to 4 layers. With 900 g of potatoes in a 24 cm pan the cake is about 2 cm tall; a thinner cake bakes drier and crisper, a thicker one stays creamier in the centre but needs longer in the oven.

Can pommes Anna be made ahead and reheated?

It is best straight away, as the crust softens on standing. If you must, bake it, cool it and refrigerate it within 2 hours, then reheat it in the pan at 200°C for about 10 minutes, until hot all the way through, to bring back the crisp edges.

France · Vegetable and Mushroom Dishes · Vegetarian

Pommes Anna

Name: Pommes Anna
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 900 g Yukon Gold potatoes; 80 g clarified butter; 2 tsp fresh thyme; 1 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp black pepper

A French side dish of thinly sliced potatoes layered into a cake and baked in clarified butter until the edges turn golden and crisp while the centre stays tender. It is usually credited to Adolphe Dugléré, chef of the Café Anglais in Paris, around 1870. The classic recipe uses only potatoes, butter, salt and pepper; the thyme here is optional. You clarify 100 g of unsalted butter for it, or use 80 g of ghee.

90 min 350 kcal 4 serves Advanced🌿Vegetarian🇫🇷France Jump to recipe

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Ingredients

ServingsMetric

900 gYukon Gold potatoes
80 gclarified butter
2 tspfresh thyme
1 tspsalt
0.5 tspblack pepper

Method

Clarify the butter: melt 100 g unsalted butter over low heat, skim the foam, and spoon off the clear golden fat, leaving the milky residue behind. You need about 80 g.
Peel the potatoes and slice them 2 mm thick on a mandoline. Do not rinse them; the surface starch is what binds the layers. Pat dry only if visibly wet.
Brush a 24 cm oven-safe nonstick or well-buttered cast-iron skillet with clarified butter and heat the oven to 220°C.
Place one slice in the centre, then lay overlapping slices in concentric circles, each covering the previous by about half. Brush with clarified butter and season lightly with salt, pepper and, if you like, thyme.
Repeat for 3 to 4 layers, brushing butter and seasoning between each. Press firmly with the base of a second pan to compact the cake.
Set the skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes to set and brown the bottom layer.
Move to the oven and bake about 45 to 50 minutes, pressing once more halfway through, until the edges are golden and a knife slips through easily.
Pour off the excess butter, run a knife around the edge, invert onto a plate, and cut into wedges. Serve hot.

FAQ

You can, but whole butter burns at high heat as its milk solids darken. Clarified butter holds 220°C and gives a clean golden crust. If you keep whole butter, bake at 200°C instead.