FABULOUS RECIPES

Sweet or savoury, Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood shares his favourite recipes in this first extract from his new book

From pecan and pear tarte tatin to salmon in brioche, The Great British Bake Off’s Paul Hollywood shares his best ever bakes

PECAN AND PEAR TARTE TATIN

A tarte tatin is impressive but pretty straightforward to make. The pecans take on a lovely praline taste from being cooked in the caramel. Don’t be afraid to cook the colour into the caramel, but don’t let it go too far – there’s a line between caramelised and burnt. And make sure you tuck the pastry in well around the outside.

Serves 6

Plain flour, for dusting

350g (12oz) ready-made all-butter puff pastry

For the filling

4 ripe dessert pears

Juice of ½ a lemon

100g (3½oz) granulated sugar 50g (1¾oz) unsalted butter 25g (1oz) pecan nuts, roughly chopped

Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll out the pastry on it to a circle, 5mm thick and 28cm in diameter. Trim to neaten. Lift the pastry round onto a baking sheet and place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat your oven to 220°C/fan 210°C/gas 7.

For the filling, peel and halve the pears, then carefully remove the core from each half. Place the pears in a bowl and toss in the lemon juice. Sprinkle the sugar in an even layer over the base of an ovenproof 24cm frying pan and set over a medium heat to melt and caramelise – keep a close eye on it as the sugar will turn suddenly. Once it starts to colour, stir or move the pan around to ensure it caramelises evenly. When it’s a golden caramel colour, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter, taking care as it is very hot and liable to splutter. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the caramel then arrange the pear halves, cut side down, on top. Lift the chilled pastry over the top and tuck the edges around the pears inside the edge of the pan. Cut off any excess pastry. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden brown.

Leave the tarte tatin to stand for 5 minutes after removing from the oven, then run a knife around the edge of the pan. Protecting your hands with oven gloves, invert the tarte tatin onto a large, lipped serving plate (to hold the juices) then lift off the pan. Serve with ice cream.