Pear Tarte Tatin

Pre-heat the oven to 450°F, gas mark 8, 230°C (210°C fan-assisted).

Fill a medium size bowl with cold water, squeeze in the juice of the lemon half, and put the juiced lemon halve in the water too.

To create the pear “fans”, place each pear half cut-side down on a chopping board then, starting from just below the stem and, cut each one on at a slight angle, leaving the stem end attached – you are aiming for around 6 slices in each. Place each of the sliced pear halves into the bowl with the lemon juice and water – this will stop them from turning brown - and set aside.

Set a 28cm/11 inch oven-proof frying pan ( I recommend the Liquida brand) over a medium heat, add and melt the butter, then add the sugar and, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook until bubbling and golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat, then stir in the amaretto and vanilla seeds and continue stirring until the sugar has cooled slightly and become thicker – it will also darken in colour as it cools.

Place the cinnamon stick and deseeded vanilla pod into the centre of the pan, using a spoon to gently press them into the caramelised sugar.

Drain the pears and dry them thoroughly with paper towels or a clean tea towel, then arrange them in the pan with the rounded side facing down and the stems pointing towards the centre. Being careful not to touch the hot sugar, press each pear down gently to fan out the slices.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry into a circle roughly measuring around 35cms/13inches in diameter and to the thickness of a £1 coin. Gently place a plate that’s slightly larger than the frying pan over the top of the pastry and cut around it with a sharp knife to give you a neat pastry circle.

Using your rolling pin to help, gently lay the puff pastry circle over the top of the pears, carefully tucking the edges of the pastry down under the pears. Carefully prick the surface of the pastry using a fork and check that the pasty is level and smooth.

Place the pan into the oven and bake for 25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown then remove and, working quickly and carefully, hold the pastry in place whilst gently tilting the pan and pouring the excess liquid into a saucepan. Place the saucepan over a medium heat and allow the liquid to reduce until thick and syrupy.

Place a plate larger than the frying pan face-side down over the top of the pan then, with one hand holding the plate and the other holding the frying pan handle, quickly flip the pan over so that the tart is sitting on the plate with the pears facing upwards.

Drizzle the reduced cooking juices over the top of the fruit (pour any put any extra juice in a jug to serve on the side) then serve with your choice of ice cream.

Enjoy!

When making this recipe, I’d LOVE to see how you get on so either send me a photo to lisa@myrelationshipwithfood.com or post a picture to Instagram using the #myrelationshipwithfood and tag @myrelationshipwithfood