The Friday Baking Project

Pear Tarte Tatin

Yield: 1 tart

# of Servings: 8 to 10

Ingredients:

P¢te Bris©e 1

Pears:

7 firm¹ Bosc or Anjou pears, (approx. 3 lb 12 oz) peeled, quartered and cored.

6 tbl unsalted butter (3 oz / 85 g), cut into large pieces

½ cup (3.6 oz / 104 g) sugar

1 ½ tbl fresh lemon juice

Serve with:

Crème fra®che or

Softly whipped cream or

Vanilla Ice Cream

Tools and equipment needed:

• 11†(outer edge) diameter Pyrex glass pie dish
• 12†saut© pan, preferably non-stick
• Vegetable peeler, melon baller, cutting board, knife
• Measuring cup, scale

Pre-recipe preparations:

• Remove P¢te Bris©e from the refrigerator approximately 20 minutes prior to rolling out.

Directions

Pastry circle:

1. On a flour-dusted counter, roll out p¢te bris©e toa 10†circle about â…› thick. Drape the dough onto a cardboard circle or cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator.

Pears and baking:

• Preheat oven to 425 °F. 

1. In saut© pan over medium flame, melt the butter. Add sugar, lemon juice, and the quartered pears. With heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon stir to coat all the pear quarters with sugar. The pan will seem very crowded with pear quarters.
2. Cook for 20 minutes, moving the pears around the pan every few minutes to promote even cooking.
3. Increase the heat to medium-high and continue cooking the pears for approximately 15 additional minutes, moving the pears around the pan to ensure even browning. The pears are done when they are a deep golden brown, and a paring knife may be inserted without too much resistance into a few select pear quarters.
4. Remove pan from stove to a heatproof surface on work counter.
5. Using a soup spoon, or a small offset spatula, arrange the pear quarters in a concentric pattern in the bottom of the pie pan (see photo). Pour any syrup from pan over the pears.
6. Remove p¢te bris©e circle from refrigerator and place over pears, tucking any edge.
7. Bake for 35 to 42 minutes, until the pastry is brown and the pears are bubbling.
8. Remove from oven to a heatproof surface.
9. Cover pie dish with a non-fragile serving platter and using pot holders, invert the pie pan.
10. The pie plate may require a gently tap to release the tart. For any stubborn pears that did not release, remove from the pie plate using a spatula and replace in the missing spot on the tart.
11. Serve warm or at room temperature, with vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche.

Notes:

1. Firm pears are very important for this recipe, as soft or even semi-soft pears will fall apart during the cooking process.

Baking tips:

• The pastry circle may be rolled out the day before, wrapped well, and stored in the refrigerator. Or, frozen for up to 2 weeks.