Saturday, November 28, 2009

Upside-down Apple-Pear tart

I have often admired the soft, moist fruit, and the crispy upper crust in American apple pies, but I like the appearance and lightness of a french apple tart. How could I combine the two? By jumping off the Tarte Tatin.
Tart tatin is an upside-down apple tart where you first make a caramel (with a stick of butter and a cup of sugar) and spread it at the bottom of the pie plate. I wanted something lighter, less sweet, and less time-consuming. Enter: Upside-down apple-pear tart.


Upside-down Apple-Pear Tart
  • Make a flaky pie crust dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for an 45-60 minutes.
  • Cut 6-7 apples and pears into thick slices (~8th)
  • Pre-heat the oven to 375F
  • Butter 1 large or 2 small pie plates. (The crust was enough for me to make 1 9in and 1 5in)
  • Place the fruit neatly on the bottom.
  • Roll out the pie crust and lay it over the fruit, tucking the edges around the fruit
  • Using a fork, make some holes in the crust to let steam out.
  • Bake at 375F until the crust is golden brown (it took me an hour, but I was at a high altitude)
  • When the tart is done, use a knife to loosen the crust from the pie plate.
  • Just before serving: Put your serving plate upside-down on top of the tart and flip the everything so that the serving dish is right side-up underneath the now upside-down pie plate. (Does that make sense?)
  • Slowly lift the pie plate, gently shaking it to free the fruit.
  • Manually take any fruit pieces that remain stuck to the pie plate and put them on top of the tart.
  • Serve hot or room-temp, with optional ice cream or whipped cream.
I made a mini cranberry tart with the leftover crust

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