First, let’s brush up on Tarte Tatin history. Originally created with apples, it is thought that two French sisters, Carolina and Stéphanie Tatin, created the upside-down tart. These women lived in Lamotte-Beuvron, a rural town in the Loire Valley of France. They owned and ran a hotel called l’Hotel Tatin in 1888. There are a few versions of the story, but the general basis seems to be this: Stéphanie did the cooking at l‘Hotel Tatin. One day, while apparently in a hurry, Stéphanie ended up assembling her tart in backwards order. She served the dessert as she made it, and it was appreciated and became a sort of trademark for her and the hotel. However, Tarte Tatin gained widespread popularity when it was brought to the menu of famous Paris restaurant, Maxim’s. Allegedly, the owner of Maxim’s sent someone (disguised as a gardener!) to Lamotte-Beuvron to find the secret.

This story might be more appropriately titled “Recovering Pear Tarte Tatin”, because there was a minor issue that led to a variance on the classic recipe.

I did not anticipate the huge amount of liquid that would be in the pan after the cooking, it certainly didn’t seem sopping, and when I inverted the tart, with it came about 2 cups of liquid. This process saturated the tart and it was necessary that I return it to the oven to get a little crunch back - little did I know that this monster would turn into the must beautiful, delicious, and rustic glazed pear tart in history! The pastry was not as voluminous as it would be normally, but the final product made me appreciate the misstep.

I have reduced the original ingredients a little; this may help to achieve less liquid at the end, though the major portion was from the fruit itself, which was very ripe. I used small red Bartlett pears, peeled and sliced thinly. Instead of coring the pear, I peel it, cut vertically down both sides until I reach the core, and salvage the small sides around the core for something else. The recipe is incredibly simple, you just need to be prepared for the situation I encountered. You may even consider tilting the pan over the sink to drain some of the liquid before inverting it, and also holding it over the sink during inversion. Also, the longer you wait after the tart has baked, the better the syrup will set up.

If you want to try the completely caramelized version I made, just invert the tart onto a rimmed baking sheet, pouring the syrup back over the pears and pastry crust. Bake it at 375 degrees for 20+ minutes until the edges darken further from caramelizing.

Pear Tarte Tatin

5-7 pears (suitable for baking), peeled

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup raw cane/Turbinado sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (preferably Dufour), thawed

Flour, for dusting workspace

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Preheat oven to 400.

Thinly slice pears inward until you reach the core, set slices aside.

Over medium heat, in a 10” skillet, heat sugar and 3 tablespoons water. Cook until it reaches a golden caramel color, 5-7 minutes, swirling as necessary. In the meantime, on a surface lightly dusted with flour, cut a 10 - 12” circle out of puff pastry, you can trace the bottom of a plate or pot, and roll out if necessary (to about 1/8 inch). Separate excess pastry dough and freeze or use for another project.

Add the butter to skillet, allow it to melt, and swirl into mixture evenly. Add pear slices, working your way from the outside in, overlapping slices to create a circular pattern until you reach the middle, continue this until all slices are used. Remember, since you will be inverting, whatever you put on the bottom will be on top.

Remove skillet from heat and lay puff pastry over the top of pear slices, fold under the loose edges and fit pastry to the skillet. Make a couple small slices into puff pastry to allow steam to vent. Cook in preheated oven for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 375 degrees, and bake until pastry is golden, about 25-35 minutes.

Remove skillet from oven and let the fruit and liquid set for about 10-20 minutes. Using a knife, loosen pastry edges from skillet. Over the skillet, carefully place whatever you will be serving the tart on (this must not only accommodate the tart, but the syrup that may run off). In one swift motion, flip the skillet and invert the tart. If any of the pear slices have shifted, you can easily move them back into place with a small spatula or spoon.

Serve as desired. I like it warm with a nice dollop of crème fraîche.

note: If the tart starts to bubble while baking, slide a baking sheet onto the lower rack to catch juices.