Pear Tatin Recipes

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll puff pastry to an 11 1/2-inch square; using a plate as a guide, cut out an 11-inch round. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• In a medium cast-iron or ovenproof nonstick skillet, combine sugar, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons water. Cook over medium heat, without stirring, until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in butter. Arrange pear wedges in a circle along the edge of skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until pears are crisp-tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
• Drape chilled pastry round over pears, tucking edge under. Place a small oven-safe plate or pot lid on top of pastry; bake 15 minutes. Remove plate; continue to bake until pastry is golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Let tart cool in skillet, 15 minutes. Run a knife around edge of skillet, and carefully invert tart onto a serving plate. Serve warm.

Steps:

• Remove refrigerated pie crust from package, and follow manufacturer's suggestions for unrolling crust. Set aside.
• Combine nutmeg, ginger, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl.
• Peel, quarter, and core 4 pears. Slice each quarter into 3 slices, from core end to bottom, and place in a large bowl. Cut remaining pear in half; peel, and core one half and add to the bowl. Peel, core, and slice the other half as directed above and add to the bowl. Drizzle pears with bourbon and sprinkle with spice-sugar mix, tossing to evenly coat.
• Melt butter in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add 2/3 cup white sugar and salt to the melted butter, stirring to combine until mixture bubbles, 2 to 3 minutes. Place the single pear half in the center of the skillet. Fan remaining pear slices around the center, core end to the outside of the skillet and stem end toward the center. If possible, turn the pieces in the same direction. Keep adding pear slices, filling in any gaps, until they are all in the skillet.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, undisturbed, until pears are fork-tender and color develops to the liquid, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place a baking sheet on a rack in the lower third of the oven.
• Remove skillet from heat and place unbaked pie shell on top of the fruit, using a fork to tuck the edges of the pie shell toward the bottom of the skillet. Place skillet on the prepared baking sheet in the preheated oven. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake until crust is brown, 28 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Place a heat-safe plate, larger than the skillet, upside down over the crust.
• Use oven mitts to grab the plate and skillet together and quickly flip the skillet contents onto the plate; this move is tricky and requires some forearm strength and dexterity. After the flip, if the contents are not centered on the plate, use a spatula to gently move to the center. Add any fruit that remained in the skillet, and drizzle any remaining liquid over the top of the tarte tatin.
• Allow to sit 15-20 minutes, then serve warm.

Steps:

• Core the pears, then peel as neatly as possible and halve. If you like, they can be prepared up to a day ahead and kept in the fridge, uncovered, so that they dry out.
• Tip the sugar, butter, star anise, cardamom and cinnamon into an ovenproof frying pan, about 20cm wide, and place over a high heat until bubbling. Shake the pan and stir the buttery sauce until it separates and the sugar caramelises to a toffee colour.
• Lay the pears in the pan, then cook in the sauce for 10-12 mins, tossing occasionally, until completely caramelised. Don't worry about them burning - they won't - but you want to caramelise them as much as possible. Splash in the brandy and let it flambé, then set the pears aside.
• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Roll the pastry out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Using a plate slightly larger than the top of the pan, cut out a circle, then press the edges of the circle of pastry to thin them out.
• When the pears have cooled slightly, arrange them in the pan, cut side up, in a floral shape, with the pears around the edge pointing inwards. Rest the cinnamon stick on the top in the centre, with the cardamom pods scattered around.
• Drape the pastry over the pears, then tuck the edges down the pan sides and under the fruit (see Gordon's guide). Pierce the pastry a few times, then bake for 15 mins. If a lot of juice bubbles up the side of the pan, pour it off at this stage (see guide). Reduce oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and bake for 15 mins more until the pastry is golden. Leave the tart to stand for 10 mins, then invert it carefully onto a serving dish.

Steps:

• For the caramel: Place the sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a heavy 10-inch skillet. Cook over medium-to-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the mixture turns a light caramel color. Remove from the heat and swirl the caramel in the skillet to cool and harden it. (If the caramel darkens too much as it continues to cook in the pan's residual heat, place the base of the skillet in cool water to stop the cooking.)
• For the pears: Peel the pears, cut them in half lengthwise and core them. Arrange the pear halves, cut side up, on the caramel so that the pointed ends of the pears meet in the center. Add the butter and 2/3 cup water. Bring to a boil (the caramel will melt). Cover the skillet with a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook gently for about 20 minutes, checking occasionally, until all the water has evaporated and the mixture in the pan has caramelized again. (By then, the pears should be partly cooked.)
• While the pears are cooking, make the dough: place the flour, butter and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Process for about 10 seconds. Add the milk and process for another 10 seconds. Transfer the unformed dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press on it until it forms a cohesive ball. Place another piece of plastic wrap on top of the dough and roll it with a rolling pin between the two plastic sheets to create a circle about the diameter of your skillet. Refrigerate the dough (still encased in plastic) to firm it slightly.
• After the pears have cooked for 20 minutes fill their hollow centers with the almonds and raisins. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, peel off the top sheet of plastic wrap and invert the dough on top of the pears. Peel off the remaining plastic sheet. Place the skillet in a preheated 400-degree oven for about 30 minutes. (By then, the dough should be nicely browned on top, and when you tilt the pan, there should be a rich layer of caramel in the bottom.) Set the skillet aside until serving time.
• If the pear Tatin has cooled beyond lukewarm at serving time, rewarm it on top of the stove until the caramel is soft again (the whole mixture will move in the pan when you shake it). Not more than 30 minutes before serving, invert a serving plate on top of the dough and turn the warm tart out onto the plate. Slice into portions, serving half a pear per person.

Steps:

• For the crust: Combine the butter, flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest in a food processor and pulse until it looks like finely grated Parmigiano. Add the egg yolk and 1 to 2 tablespoons of the ice water. Pulse, pulse, pulse until the mixture comes together. If it seems a bit dry, add a little more water and pulse, pulse, pulse until the mixture comes together into a ball. Dump the whole thing out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the mixture only enough to make it a smooth ball, 1 or 2 times. Using a rolling pin or your fingers, roll or press the dough out into an even circle 11 to 12 inches in diameter. Transfer to a cookie sheet lined with plastic wrap and enclose the dough in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or preferably overnight.
• For the filling: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the sugar, apple cider, lemon juice and vanilla bean seeds in a 10-inch nonstick ovenproof pan and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, brushing down the sides of the pan occasionally with a pastry brush dipped in water, if necessary. Cook, swishing the pan around gently to promote even cooking, until the mixture turns light brown, 6 to 7 minutes. Continue to cook the mixture until it becomes a much deeper amber color, another minute or so. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, 2 pats at a time. The mixture will bubble up. That is okay, just be VERY CAREFUL not to get any of this on you. When all of the butter has been incorporated, begin to arrange the pears rounded-side down in circles. Try to do this neatly and in a pretty way. Remember, the bottom will be the top!
• Return the pan to the burner and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, then remove from the heat.
• Retrieve the chilled pastry and place it on top of the pears. Tuck the pastry in around the edges of the pan. Bake until the dough is golden brown and crispy, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the tart cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Place a serving platter upside down on top of the pastry and CAREFULLY flip the platter and the pan over. Let the tart fall gently out of the pan.
• Slice tart into pieces and garnish with a dollop of sweetened mascarpone.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the sugar and 1/2 cup water in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with a handle over medium heat. Cook, swirling the skillet as needed to even out the color, until it is evenly very light amber, about 10 minutes. Add the butter and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and stir to combine, allowing the butter to melt. Carefully add the apples and pears, cut-side down. Finish with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Cook the apples and pears for 12 minutes, then add the nuts, gently nestling the nuts with the fruit.
• Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into a 10-inch round, then prick with a fork and lay on top of fruit. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the puff pastry is golden, 45 to 50 minutes.
• Remove and let cool for 15 minutes, then place a plate over the puff pastry and carefully flip the skillet over (use heatproof gloves). Let rest for 5 minutes, then lift the skillet off.
• Spoon into shallow dishes and garnish with whipped cream.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Roll puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness; place in the refrigerator.
• Melt butter in a 9-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat; stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and cook and stir until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Stir maple syrup into brown sugar mixture; cook, stirring, until mixture begins to bubble. Remove skillet from heat.
• Place one pear half, cut side up, into the center of skillet. Cut remaining pear halves in half again; arrange pear quarters around the center pear, cut sides up.
• Place skillet over medium-low heat; cook pears, basting with syrup mixture, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
• Remove puff pastry from refrigerator; place pastry over pears, tucking edges of pastry around pears inside skillet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pastry is puffed and golden, about 20 minutes; allow to cool for 5 minutes. Place a serving plate over skillet; invert to remove tart (skillet will still be hot). Serve warm.