Pear Tarte Tatin (Made Simple)

by madeleine

This is pear tarte tatin made simpler. A classic French dessert, tarte tatin is a rustic fruit tart served upside down. Caramelized with butter and sugar in a skillet, the fruit is then baked beneath a blanket of pastry dough—which becomes a crust once flipped. Depending how you make it, the recipe is often quite technical and complicated. I simplified the process as much as possible without compromising flavor. See step-by-step photos above and carefully read through the recipe before beginning. Notes Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The dough can be made ahead of time and chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months after preparing it in step 1. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out and filling. You can prepare the caramel sauce and assemble the pears on top a few hours ahead of time. Cover and keep at room temperature; do not be concerned if the pears brown, as they’ll cook soon anyway! Butter For Crust: Make sure the cubed butter is very cold. After cubing, I like to chill it in the freezer for about 15 minutes before cutting into the dry ingredients.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
• 2 tbsp (25g) granulated sugar
• 0.25 tsp salt
• 0.5 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) cold unsalted butter, cubed*
• 0.25 cup (60ml) ice-cold water, plus more as needed
• 5 small, semi-firm pears (about 1.5–2 lbs.)
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice
• 0.25 tsp ground cinnamon
• 0.125 tsp ground nutmeg
• 0.125 tsp ground ginger
• 0.25 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter
• 0.5 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar

Method

1. Make the crust: Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Using a pastry cutter or 2 forks, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse pea-sized crumbs. Add the water and stir until the flour is moistened. Add 1–2 more Tablespoons of water if the dough seems dry. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using your hands, work the dough into a ball. Flatten it into a thick disc. Wrap the dough disc in plastic wrap or parchment paper and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour, and up to 3 days.
2. As the dough chills, prepare the pears: Peel, halve lengthwise, and scoop out the seeded core of the pears. Remove the stem, including the bottom part of the stem. Place the pears in a medium bowl, and toss gently with lemon/orange juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, until evenly coated. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use the pears.
3. Make the caramel sauce: Melt the butter in a 10-inch oven-safe skillet over medium heat, or use a heavy-duty medium saucepan. Once the butter has melted, whisk in the brown sugar. At first it will look very separated, like it doesn’t want to combine, but that’s ok. Just keep whisking. Cook, whisking occasionally, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes while you roll out the crust. (If you used a saucepan for the caramel, pour it into an ungreased 9 or 10-inch pie dish.)
4. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
5. Assemble: Roll out the chilled dough into a circle about 11–12 inches in diameter (it doesn’t have to be perfect!). Arrange the pears, cut-side up, in the skillet. Drape the pastry crust round over top of the pears. Gently tuck in the edges of the crust around the pears with a spoon. Dock (prick) the crust with a fork, to allow steam to escape.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, then keeping the tarte tatin in the oven, reduce the temperature to 375°F (191°C) and bake for 25 more minutes, or until the crust is golden-brown.
7. Allow to cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack, and then carefully invert the tart onto a large serving plate or platter. I recommend doing this over the sink to catch any possible spills. Use extreme caution as the caramel sauce and fruit are very, very hot.
8. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream, if desired. Cover and store leftover pear tarte tatin in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.