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When typing this title I had to smile because it reminds me of the classic whine of a child regarding lots of things but mainly car rides, “are we there yet?” I feel a little like a child in anticipation of the upcoming season—fall.
So, this past weekend, to busy myself in an effort to make the time go by more quickly I decided to prepare a new dessert (new to me) that I found on Epicurious. If you like to cook you will enjoy this site—one of my favorite features is that when you read a recipe if there are any reviews, and there usually are, you can find out what the other cooks found, tips, changes, etc. The recipe was first published in Gourmet magazine in 1997.
Caramelized Upside-Down Pear Tart
Dessert (Originally in Gourmet Magazine, November 1997)
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Ingredients – serves 8
1 pie crust (can be made or frozen; if frozen, thaw first OR you can use frozen puff pastry, thawed)
Filling:
- 4 large firm-ripe Bosc pears (2 pounds total)
- ½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Preparation Instructions – Preheat oven to 425°
Peel and halve pears, the core (preferably with a melon-ball cutter). Heat butter in a 9- to 10-inch well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then stir in sugar (sugar will not be dissolved). Arrange pears, cut sides up, in skillet with wide parts at rim of skillet. Sprinkle pears with cinnamon and cook, undisturbed , until sugar turns a deep golden caramel. (This can take as little as 10 minutes or as much as 25, depending on pears, skillets and stove.) Cool pears completely in skillet.
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and trim to a 9 ½ to 10 ½ inch round. Arrange pastry over caramelized pears, tucking edge around pears inside rim of skillet. Bake tart until pastry is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cook on rack 5 minutes.
Invert rimmed serving plate (slightly larger than skillet) over skillet and , using pot holders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert tart onto plate. Serve tart warm or at room temperature.
This would be a great recipe to entertain with because you could bake it just before your guests arrive (what a wonderful scent) and then serve it room temperature.