Pear Tarte Tatin
- Total Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 6firm, large pears
- 2tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¾cup sugar
- 4tablespoons unsalted butter
- Tarte Tatin pastry (see recipe)
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Position rack in bottom third of oven. Peel the pears, cut them in half lengthwise and core them. Place in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Set aside.
- Step 2
Place the sugar in a 10-inch skillet or tarte Tatin pan over low heat. When some of the sugar begins to melt, begin stirring with a wooden spoon until all of the sugar is melted and begins to turn a pale golden color.
- Step 3
Remove the pan from the heat. Arrange the pear halves in the pan spoke fashion, cut side up, with the narrow end of the pears toward the center, as close together as possible. Fill in the center with the remaining pears.
- Step 4
Cut the butter into small pieces and scatter over the pears. Place the pan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar turns a deep caramel color and the juices released from the pears are nearly evaporated, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Step 5
Roll the dough and cover the pears according to the directions in the pastry recipe. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Step 6
Run a small, sharp knife around the edge of the tarte to loosen. Place a large plate or platter over the skillet. Holding the plate and skillet together using 2 kitchen towels, carefully but quickly invert the tarte onto the plate. Let stand a few minutes to cool slightly. Cut into wedges and serve with or creme fraiche if desired.
Private Notes
Comments
This is the tarte tatin to make, not the more recent "fool proof" one published here, one reason (though not the only reason) being that the pastry crust is far superior to packaged puff pastry.
The only thing I'd add to this wonderful recipe is that I use a turkey baster to baste the pears with the butter and juices as they reduce and caramelize before topping with the pastry crust.
The result is great but there are a few problems with the recipe. Be prepared to spend a great deal of time on step 2. The sugar will clump on the end of the spoon and it is very difficult to get off. Step 4 took way more than 20 minutes. Be VERY CAREFUL in step 6 when you invert the tart and make sure that the plate is significantly larger than the pan. My tart was still very syrupy and hot, and the plate was about the same width as the pan, so I lost some of the caramel in the process.
I'm sticking to apple tarte tatin. Pears are too much work with too much liquid. I have one tip for unmolding and flipping: do it immediately if you can. This avoids fruit sticking to the tartin pan and produces a more attractive arrangement of the fruit on the crust.
i make this all the time, it is super easy and always comes out perfect. i use other fruit also like apples or peaches..
The recipe is unnecessarily complicated. I make tarte tatin (thanks NPR) by melting the butter, stirring in the sugar, then nestling in the fruit and monitoring the caramelization over medium heat. I quartered the pears (as I do with apples) and arranged them cut sides up. Additional 1/8 sections fit between them (cut sides down) to make a level surface on which to lay the pastry. Turned out beautiful, and delicious.
My issue is with the crust. It always is a bit too crumbly and does not roll out into an easy sheet. I have made it 3 times and end up sticking it together over the pears piecemeal. It all does taste good though. Also, the times per section are all significantly longer.
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