Tarte tatin is a caramelized upside-down apple tart with a flaky pastry crust.
Here we swap in pears for the traditional apple.
What Is a Tarte Tatin?
Elise Bauer
Have you ever made a tarte tatin?
A beautifully browned crust topped with a lovely arrangement of fruit cooked in a caramel sauce.
Just be sure that the fruits are still firm and not too soft.
Elise Bauer
Use pears that are ripe but still firm enough to hold their shape when sliced.
Look for unwrinkled stems when choosing pears to buy.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
Elise Bauer
Stir in the sour cream with a fork.
Form the dough into a ball and shape into a disk.
Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour before rolling out.
Elise Bauer
While waiting for the dough to chill, prep the pears and the caramel in steps 2 through 5.
Set your oven to 375F.
Peel and halve the pears lengthwise.
Elise Bauer
Reserve one pear half for the center of the tarte, and cut the remaining halves once more lengthwise.
Core the pear quarters and the half.
Melt butter in a cast iron pan on medium heat.
Elise Bauer
Swirl the butter so that it coats the sides of the pan as well.
Sprinkle 2/3 cup of sugar over the butter in an even layer.
Remove the pan from the heat.
Elise Bauer
Place the single pear half, cut side up, in the center of the pan.
Angle them as you go as to fit all of the pears in.
attempt to minimize any gaps.
Elise Bauer
Remove from the heat and place on a baking sheet pan.
Sprinkle the pears with grated nutmeg and minced candied ginger.
Place the pastry dough over the pears and gently tuck the edgesinsidethe edge of the pan.
Elise Bauer
Careful, the pan is still hot.
I find using a fork helps to ease the dough inside the edges of the pan.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until baked through, and the pastry is nicely browned.
Elise Bauer
Remove from the oven.
Place a rimmed serving dish or a pyrex or ceramic pie dish over the pan.
Flip them over, releasing the tarte tatin to the plate.
Elise Bauer
The caramel is hot and liquid-y and can easily spill.
So, take care and work quickly.
Don’t worry if some of the liquid spills out.
Elise Bauer
Flip the tarte over while the tarte tatin is still hot.
That way the caramel will not make the tarte stick to the pan as you invert it.
The pears will likely have moved a bit in the flip-over.
Elise Bauer
So, rearrange them with a fork (they’re hot!)
to form an attractive pattern.
Let cool to just warm or room temperature before serving.
Serve with a little vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on the side.
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