FLIPPING FOR SWEET TARTE TATIN
Fear not! This dessert is easier to make than you might think
A confession: Before now, I had never made a tarte Tatin.
It sounded just plain scary — flipping a pan over so that the fruit ends up on top and the crust ends up on the bottom.
Why would anyone put themselves through such angst?
But there I was just minding my own business, and suddenly it was pear season, and the voluptuous, colourful, squatty fruits were everywhere.
I bought some puff pastry, gave myself a big old pep talk and turned up the music.
An hour later, my first pear Tatin was a success. A few pears stuck to the pan when I inverted it, but I pulled them off and settled them back into place on the tarte, and no one was the wiser.
And while I will have to accomplish a few more to feel as though they are no longer intimidating, I am now on my way.
I can envision that day when I will be able to say with casual confidence: “Oh, can I bring a dessert? How about a tarte Tatin?”
You want your pears to be just ripe, but not soft. They need to hold their shape in the baking.
Buy yourself some good ice cream for this — you and your tarte Tatin deserve it.
In closing, I take a moment yet again to profess my abiding love for premade puff pastry.
I may be excited to add tarte Tatins to my repertoire, but I’m pretty far away from wanting to make my own puff pastry.