Pear Tarte Tatin (Rustic French Pear Pie)
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This rustic french pear pie is an easy-to-make crowd pleaser, perfect for holiday season! Impressive look is just an icing!
I love French desserts. There’s something about them so elegant, sophisticated, yet rustic! Plus, it’s so fun to say it out loud. Let’s say it together: “Tarte Tatin!” 🙂 Right?
Anyway, every fall when I get too much pumpkin everything, I turn to my next favorite autumn dessert that has nothing to do with pumpkin.
Unlike pecan pie, or pumpkin pie, this french pear pie is light and fruity, which makes it perfect for after dinner treat.
And that’s not all, this beautiful upside down pear pie is surprisingly easy to make too. Here’s a quick run down…
We’ll start with making “caramel” base with butter and sugar.
Then we’ll arrange cut up pears in a beautiful order over bubbling caramel sauce. A perfect sight for a type A like myself, right?
Let the pears simmer in the caramel sauce until they’re nice and soft. A sprinkle of spices for a hint of warmth.
So now we’ll cover the bubbling fruits with a pie crust, tucking the edges in, and in to the oven it goes! This why you’ll need an oven proof skillet, like cast iron skillet or this Anolon one (my favorite).
But if you only have a regular non-stick pan, no worries. You can still use it, but you’ll need to completely wrap the handle with aluminum foil to cover all the parts that could melt in hot oven.
Once the pie is baked completely, we’ll have to flip the pie into a serving platter. In my case, just a regular pie dish. This step always gives me a little anxiety. Yeah, after 10+ times of baking this pear pie, I still get that feeling. But if you’re careful, it’ll be just fine.
To flip the pie, you’ll need a cookie sheet and a oven mitts. And turn it AWAY from yourself, so that the hot juices are not splash you. Speaking of juices, you can carefully drain some of the excess juices before flipping to serve with the pie later.
And homemade whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream is a darn good idea.
Pear Tarte Tatin
Ingredients
- 4-5 ripe firm pears
- Juice of one lemon or produce protector
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pie crust
Instructions
- Peel and core the pears. Quarter them, but leave one half of the pear for the center. Sprinkle some lemon juice, or produce protector to prevent the pears from browning.
- In an oven-safe 10-inch skillet*, melt the butter on medium heat.
- Add the sugars and cook until the mixture bubbles and turns slightly brown.
- Place the reserved pear half in the middle of the pan. And arrange the pear quarters around the half pear cut size up.
- Cook the pears uncovered until the butter mixture is caramelized and turned deep brown color, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Sprinkle ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg over the pears.
- Roll the pie dough into 10-inch circle.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and place it on the baking sheet.
- Cover the pears with pie crust. Tuck in the edges, using a spatula, if necessary.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned.
- Cover the pie with a lid and very carefully tilt the skillet slightly to pour the sauce into a small bowl. Again be very careful not to mangle the pie.
- Place 9-inch pie dish over the skillet and quickly flip the pie over. When you flip, make sure to put oven mitts on and flip AWAY from yourself.
- Cool to room temperature before serving. If desired, serve with homemade whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on January 10th, 2014.
My pears burnt to a crisp after 20 min on low. Guess I’m an awful cook
Hi, Connie. That doesn’t sound right at all. I cook my pears and caramel sauce on medium heat, and it takes about 30 minutes to caramelize. So, it’s being burnt on low sounds weird to me. But everyone’s stove is different.
We made this dish last Christmas. Fast forward to this Christmas, when we took a poll on what to have for Christmas dinner, this dish was the only unanimous selection! Glad I kept the recipe! It may become a tradition!!
Yay, so happy to hear it was a hit, Scott. Glad you were able to come back again this year. Thank you for your feedback!
When you add brown sugar, how do you tell when it is golden and bubbly when it’s brown from the start?
Hi, Guy. So when you add both granulated and brown sugars into the melted butter, the mixture won’t be totally brown. The color will deepen as it starts bubbling. I appreciate your question, and I’ll update the recipe with more details.
Hullo! I was making the New Basics pear tatin and decided to check the internets for reviews, and found this blog. I put cinnamon and nutmeg on it like you (which the original recipe didn’t have) and I also made a vanilla/tiny bit of white wine glaze with the leftovers in the pan. MMmmmmm. It came out deliciously! Thank you for the inspiration! 🙂
Now – how do you store it? Do you have to put it in the fridge, or…? *headscratch* I’ve never made a tart!
Hi, Anna! I’m glad my recipe inspired you. 🙂 White wine in the glaze sounds awesome! I will try that next time. To store, just refrigerate it for up to 2-3 days. Mine never last that long though. 🙂
I ended up sort-of-accidentally leaving it on the counter for about 3 days covered in a paper towel, and it was just fine. People who came over to my apartment would snag a slice now and then on the way by! But it was probably a little risky of me to leave it out… o_O
I tend to put everything cooked in the fridge right away. 🙂
it looks delicious!
Thank you, Dina! 🙂