Pear Tarte Tatin
A classic Tarte Tatin, made with homemade rough puff pastry & pears instead of apples. Serve this with vanilla ice cream for a real treat!
Servings: 6 Portions
Equipment
- 9" Frying Pan/Skillet Ovenproof
- Veg Peeler
- Melon Baller/Small Cookie Scoop For Coring The Pears
- Heatproof Spatula
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 300 g Rough Puff Pasry See Notes
- 140 g Caster Sugar
- 60 g Unsalted Butter
- ½ tsp Vanilla Paste
- A Pinch Of Salt
- 5 Ripe Conference Pears
Instructions
Pastry
- Roll your pastry out on a lightly floured surface, to a thickness of 5mm.
- Next, using your frying pan or a large plate as a guide, cut out a 10" circle. Don't worry about cutting it too neatly, it's meant to be rustic!
- Prick the pastry all over with a fork then place it onto a lined baking tray & refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Caramel
- Preheat an oven to 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320°f).
- Add the sugar into a 9" frying pan then place over a medium heat.
- Cook, stirring gently until the sugar has melted & has turned into a deep golden brown caramel. This will take 4-5 minutes. Be careful not to take it too far though!If the sugar crystallises as it cooks, don't worry just keep cooking until it melts.
- Next, stir in the butter then continue cooking until it has melted & incorporated into the caramel. This will take a minute or two.
- Take the caramel off the heat then stir in the vanilla paste & a pinch of salt. Set aside whilst you prep the pears.
Pears
- To prep the pears, peel them with a veg peeler, lightly trim the tops & bottoms then cut in half down the length.
- Using a melon baller or a small cookie scoop, scoop out the seeds from near the base. Use a sharp knife to trim the thin line of core that goes towards the top of the pear.See the video in the post above for a visual guide!
- Next, place the pears round side down into the pan of caramel. Arrange them so there is as little space between them as possible.
- Place the pan back over a medium-low heat then cook the pears in the caramel for 5 minutes or so, until they have started to soften. Make sure to also baste the tops of the pears in the caramel as they cook.
Assembly & Baking
- Take the pan off the heat then lay the disc of pastry over the pears. Carefully tuck the edges around the pears (use a small palette knife for this part!).
- Place the pan onto a baking tray then cook in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown & crisp.
- Once the tarte tatin is cooked, let it cool until the pan is cool enough to touch without oven gloves. This will take around 1½ hours.Letting the tarte tatin cool before turning out, lets the caramel set & thicken slightly, giving the pears a better glaze that's not too runny.
- Place a large plate over the top of the pan then confidently flip over to turn out the tarte tatin onto the plate.
- Cut the tarte tatin into portions & serve with vanilla ice cream or pouring cream.
Notes
1. Cooking In An Aga - Cook the caramel on the boiling plate then once the pears have been added, move over to the simmering plate. Cook the tarte tatin in the baking oven, on the second from bottom set of runners.
2. Pastry - For this tarte tatin, I'd recommend using my rough puff pastry recipe. You'll need 300 grams, which is half a batch (I'd recommend making a full batch then freezing the other half). Alternatively, you can use shop bought puff pastry.
3. Pears - I'd recommend using Conference pears for this tarte tatin recipe, as they are flavourful & will hold their shape once cooked, providing they aren't overly ripe. For this recipe, the pears should be ripe but still firm.