Pear Tarte Tatin

I’m back with another new Christmas dessert recipe for you for Day 5 of 12 Days of Christmas Desserts. In case you haven’t quite figured it out yet, I love all things French. When I was little, my aunt used to go to Paris on a regular basis and when any of us cousins turned 12, she took us with her. I vividly remember my 8 year-old self seeing pictures and hearing stories from my cousin’s first French getaway and counting down the days until my 12th birthday. Unfortunately, we moved from North Carolina to Florida later that year and life got in the way and coordinating trips to Paris fell to the wayside. But 20 years later, my time came. My generous aunt packed us up and we spent 10 days in Aix-en-Provence, a region in the South of France, celebrating our birthdays (because we share the same birthdate) and it was really all I imagined my first trip to France being. Then last year, Martin and I spent a few days wandering the streets of Paris and Bordeaux and I began shopping for French real estate. I once listened to a podcast interview with Dorie Greenspan where she said that the first time she walked off of the plane in Paris, she thought to herself "I could have been born here” and I feel that deeply in my soul.

But since Europe doesn’t yet recognize Martin’s professional licenses and I currently do not make enough money off of my writing to support us living overseas, I’ve resigned myself to reading David Lebovitz books and eating steak frites, and drinking lots of wine. Oh, and making French pastries.

Tarte Tatin is a very classic French dessert and it’s somewhat of an upside-down tart. It’s often made with apples, but I had some really beautiful pears in my most recent Misfits Market box that were begging to be snuggled in puff pastry. It’s really a fairly simple recipe, once you know what you are looking for. I did a lot of tarte tatin research in creating this recipe and all of the recipes that I found really don’t differ much. I very slightly adapted one from Deb Perlman at Smitten Kitchen, who had slightly adapted her recipe from the most-talented Susan Spungeon.

I found that the easiest way to make the caramel is by using a large, deep skillet where you can easily see the color of the sugar as it cooks and then transfer everything to a cast iron for baking. You can use store-bought puffy pastry or make your own, I have a recipe with step-by-step instructions here. The most important thing is to let the pastry cool completely (30-60 minutes) before inverting it to keep from having to clean up a sticky, caramel mess.

Pear Tarte Tatin

makes one 10” skillet

slightly adapted from Deb Perlman who adapted from Susan Spungen 

Ingredients

4 tbsp (55 g) unsalted butter

3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar

Juice of 1/2 of a lemon

2 tbsp dark rum

1 sheet puff pastry, store-bought or homemade 

6 pears, each sliced into eighths

Procedure 

1. Place your cut pears into a large bowl and squeeze the juice of half of a lemon over top of them. Toss to coat and then set aside.

2. Pour sugar in an even layer in the bottom of a large skillet. Turn the heat to medium heat and cook, without stirring until sugar begins to dissolve and turn golden. When all of the sugar has dissolved, you may swirl the pan once or twice. Cook until a deep amber color.

3. When the sugar is a deep brown liquid, whisk in the butter. The mixture will bubble and sputter, but that’s ok, keep whisking. Once the butter is melted, whisk in the rum.

4. Add the pears to the caramel and stir to coat. Cook over medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pears are softened and caramel is bubbly.

5. Use tongs to arrange the pear slices in an even layer in the bottom of a 10” cast iron skillet (or deep pie plate) and then pour the remaining caramel over the top. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

6. While the pears are cooling, preheat the oven to 400° F.

7. Roll your sheet of puff pastry out into a circle just larger than the skillet and trim the edges. When the pears are mostly cool, gently lay the puff pastry over the top of the skillet and slice a small hole in the center to let steam escape.

8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until pastry is deeply golden and caramel is bubbling.

9. Let the tarte tatin cool completely in the skillet (at least 30 minutes) before carefully inverting onto a plate or serving dish.

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French-Style Apple Torte with Maple Tahini Cream

Last fall, I was walking 20 miles through the streets of Paris to make sure I got to visit every arrondissament, taking trains through the French countryside, and hanging out in wine bars in Bordeaux. This fall, I’m watching French dramas on Netflix and scrolling through “cheap dream home” listings on Instagram. Such is 2020. So here is this little French-style apple torte to make a fall spent sitting at home a bit sweeter. It’s a cake that is very light and barely sweet, it pairs well with coffee in the morning or wine in the afternoon and has a very ‘lazy day’ feel.

But why am I calling it a torte instead of a cake? What’s the difference? I’m glad you asked! There are a few different opinions on the subject, and I found this little write up from Food52 helpful in creating a semi-accurate definition. Since there is quite a bit of discussion on the matter, I’ll simply tell you why I’m referring this little pastry as a torte (whether it’s technically correct or not). First, it’s European in style. The inspiration for this torte came from two different places—German apple strudel, a pastry that is barely sweetened with no brown sugar or cinnamon, which are both very American apple pairings, and a Dorie Greenspan by-way-of-David Lebovitz recipe for a French Apple Cake. Second, tortes traditionally implement nut flours for a denser crumb. While this cake is not 100% nut flour based, the addition of almond flour gives texture and heftiness to an otherwise very light crumb. And third, it’s has a semi-elaborate decoration. Most tortes are known for their clean looks and fancy glazes. While this cake doesn’t implement any sleek decor, the arranged apple slices take a bit more time than simply folding them into the batter and gives a polished, finished look. And lastly, I’m calling it a torte because I want to. :) The maple tahini cream is beautiful scooped on top and if I close my eyes when I take a bite, it almost feels like I’m back in Paris.

P.S. If you’re looking to take a little getaway from the comfort of your couch, I wrote all about our European adventure last fall on the blog. You can check out my travel diaries here: Paris and Bordeaux.

French Apple Torte 

Yield: 1 8” cake

Ingredients

for the cake:

1/2 cup (80 g) all purpose flour

1/4 cup (25 g) almond flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

2 eggs

1 egg white

3/4 cup  granulated sugar, divided

2 tbsp rum

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter

3-4 small apples, thinly sliced

for the maple tahini cream:

1/4 cup loose tahini

1/4 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup heavy cream, chilled

Procedure: 

1. Preheat oven to 350° F and line a 8” cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside

2. Place butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally for 6-7 minutes, until butter is foamy and fragrant, and browned bits begin to form. Remove from heat and transfer to a heat-proof bowl to cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. 

3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. Set aside. 

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the two whole eggs, 1/2 cup of sugar, rum, and vanilla extract. Add browned butter and continue whisking until smooth and homogenized. Add dry ingredients to the bowl and whisk gently until no flour streaks remain. 

5. In the bowl of stand mixer or using a hand mixer, whip egg white on medium-high speed until frothy. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and continue whipping until thick and glossy. The mixture won’t form peaks, but will be very thick and look marshmallowy. 

6. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter until completely combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and arrange apple slices on top. 

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and the top springs back when touched. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan and continuing to cool. 

8. While the cake is cooling, make the maple tahini cream. In a small bowl, whisk together tahini and maple syrup until smooth. Using a mixer, whip cold heavy cream until soft peaks form, then stream in tahini mixture. Continue mixing until combined. Spoon soft whipped cream over warm apple cake. 

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Buckwheat and Black Plum Crumble

This might be my favorite recipe of the spring. It’s simple, crumbly, and just look at that shade of pink! Plums are just the most beautiful and magical little fruits. This is my go to crumble topping and it’s the very best time of year for fruit crumbles. They can be adapted for any fruit you have on hand, require very few ingredients, can be made ahead of time and warmed up….really the possibilities are endless. This recipe uses black plums because there was a bounty of them a few weeks ago at my local market, but you can easily substitute any stone fruit (peaches, pears), apples, or berries or cherries. The important thing to remember when working with baked fruit desserts is to adjust your sugar and cornstarch levels based on the natural sweetness and liquid of the fruit you are working with. Taste your fruit first! If your plums are on the riper side and are fairly sweet when you bite into them, reduce the sugar a bit. If they’re on the tarter side, increase it to your preference. Fruits with a higher liquid content will produce more juice when macerating and baking, so a little more cornstarch may be needed for berries or cherries.

I love the addition of buckwheat flour to this crumble topping; it provides a nuttiness and complexity to an otherwise ordinary dessert. (It also makes this dessert gluten free, which can be helpful if you are sharing with friends.) If you don’t have buckwheat flour on hand, feel free to substitute all purpose flour, spelt flour, or whole wheat flour. I like a hefty crumble to fruit topping so this recipe makes a hearty amount. If you want to use less topping, the crumble can be stored in a sealed container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Buckwheat and Black Plum Crumble

Yield: 4 small ramekins 

Ingredients: 

for the filling

1.5 lbs (about 3) large black plums, sliced

2 T (30 g) granulated sugar

2 T (30 g) brown sugar

1 T lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

for the topping

1/4 cup (35 g) buckwheat flour

1/2 cup (50 g) rolled oats

3 T (40 g) brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp kosher salt

4 T (57 g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Procedure: 

1. Place plum slices in a large bowl. Add sugar, brown sugar, and lemon juice and toss to combine. Let sit about 30 minutes, while you make the crumble. 

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine buckwheat flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds to combine. 

3. Add cold butter to flour mixture and mix on medium speed until butter is evenly distributed and completely incorporated. (If making ahead of time, the crumble mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.)

4. Add cornstarch to plums and stir to incorporate. 

5. Preheat oven to 350° F. Divide fruit evenly among four small ramekins (or place in a 10” cast iron). Top with each with a thick layer of buckwheat crumble.

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Let cool slightly and serve warm with ice cream. 

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