Pear Tarte Tatin

Cooking time: 45 mins

SERVES: 6

Ingredients

• 300g Puff Pastry (all-butter)
• Plain Flour (for dusting)
• 6 English Pears (approx. 900g/2lb), such as Williams or Conference.
• 100g Caster Sugar
• 50g Unsalted Butter (diced & chilled)
• Peugeot Red Long Pepper (Poivre long Takeo)
• 100g Cornish Clotted Cream
• 1 Whole Egg + 1 Egg Yolk
• 1 Vanilla pod

Method

• Step 1: Using the flour, lightly dust your surface, and roll the pastry into a 3mm-thick circle. Place your baking dish upside-down onto the pastry, and cut around the dish creating a perfectly sized circle for your Tarte Tatin. Place your pastry on a lined baking sheet, prick with a fork, then egg wash with 1 whole egg and 1 yolk beaten together. Chill for 30 minutes, then egg wash again. Place back in the fridge for later.
• Step 2: Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4. Peel, core and quarter the pears, then set aside. In a pan, heat the sugar on a medium heat for 5-7 mins until a dark amber caramel. Turn off the heat and carefully stir in the butter, the vanilla seeds (scraped from the pod) and a good few grinds of Pepper.
• Step 3: To assemble the Tarte Tatin, pour your hot caramel into your Peugeot Ceramic Baking Dish, then arrange the pear quarters very tightly in a circle starting from the outer edge, keeping the rounded side of the pears facing down. Continue into the centre until the entire dish is covered. Gently press with your hands to ensure there are no gaps.
• Step 4: Bake in the oven for 10 mins, then remove and place the puff pastry on top. Tuck the edges down the inside of the dish and with a knife, prick a hole in the middle of the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake for a further 40 mins until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.
• Step 5: Allow to cool to room temperature for 1 hr before running a knife around the edge of the dish and flip out onto a serving plate that is deep enough to contain the juices. Serve with with your clotted cream