Pear Tarte Tatin Recipe

Massimo Spigaroli's pear tarte Tatin recipe is a more elegant spin on the traditional French dessert, with individual rounds of almond sablé biscuit topped with discs of sweet butter-roasted pear. Crisp lemon brittle provides a golden crunch of caramel to the top of the tart, while liquorice ice cream adds sophisticated creamy richness to the overall dish.

Caramelised pears

8 Williams pears
30g of butter
135g of brown sugar

Liquorice ice cream

520g of whole milk
175g of cream
40g of milk powder, skimmed
30g of egg yolks
160g of caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
5g of carob seed flour
115g of liquorice paste, ideally Calabrian

Almond sablé

70g of almond paste
50g of butter
75g of sugar
25g of egg yolks
110g of 00 flour
75g of almond flour
25g of almonds, toasted and chopped
1 pinch of salt

Lemon brittle

125g of butter, softened
250g of caster sugar
60g of flour
100g of lemon juice
1 tbsp of lemon zest

To serve

edible flowers
mint cress

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Thermometer
Blender
Ice cream maker

The day before serving, prepare the liquorice ice cream. Combine the milk, cream and milk powder in a small pan and heat gently over a medium heat

520g of whole milk
175g of cream
40g of milk powder, skimmed

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla, sugar and carob seed flour until well-combined. Pour the hot milk mixture into the bowl, whisk to combine, then transfer to a clean pan and heat gently until the mixture reaches 82°C

30g of egg yolks
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
160g of caster sugar
5g of carob seed flour

Place the pan over a bowl of iced water and quickly cool the mixture until it reaches 4°C. Add the liquorice paste to the pan, then pour into a blender and blitz to combine

115g of liquorice paste, ideally Calabrian

Pour the ice cream mixture into a tub and leave in the fridge to rest overnight, stirring last thing at night and first thing in the morning

The next day, stir the mixture thoroughly, then pour into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer instructions. Transfer to the freezer and chill until ready to serve

Next prepare the mixture for the lemon brittle. Combine the butter, sugar, flour and lemon zest and juice in a large bowl and mix together until smooth. Place the bowl in the fridge and leave to rest for 3 hours

125g of butter, softened
250g of caster sugar
60g of flour
100g of lemon juice
1 tbsp of lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7

While the brittle mixture is resting, prepare the pears for the tarte Tatin and purée. Peel the pears and cut them in half, using a spoon to scoop out the core

8 Williams pears

Melt the butter over a medium heat, then add the sugar and allow to dissolve. Pour the sweet butter into a tray with 5cm high edge and arrange the pears over the top, overlapping the pear pieces if necessary. Cover the tray with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes

30g of butter
135g of brown sugar

Meanwhile, make the sablé biscuit. Beat together the butter, sugar and almond paste until smooth, then mix through the egg yolks. Combine the flours in a separate bowl and gradually add to the butter mixture, stirring well until fully incorporated

50g of butter
70g of almond paste
75g of sugar
25g of egg yolks
75g of almond flour
110g of 00 flour

Fold through the almonds and salt, then leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes

1 pinch of salt
25g of almonds, toasted and chopped

Once the pears are golden and cooked through, remove two pear halves from the tray and set aside for the purée. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/gas mark 3, then discard the foil and return the tray to the oven for 10 minutes, or until the moisture has evaporated

Place the reserved pear halves in a food processor and blitz to form a smooth purée, adding a little water to loosen if required. Pass through a fine sieve and set aside until ready to serve

Remove the pears from the oven and leave to cool a little, increasing the oven temperature to 170°C/gas mark 4. Once cool enough to handle, finely slice into semicircles approximately 0.5cm thick and set aside

Remove the rested sablé dough from the fridge and roll out on a floured surface. Roll out to a thickness of 1cm and cut out 6cm rounds using a pastry cutter. Lightly grease a baking tray and evenly space the rounds out across it, then transfer to the oven and bake for 18 minutes, until golden

Reduce the oven temperature to 165°C/gas mark 3

Remove the rested brittle mixture from the fridge and spread across a baking tray lined with a silicone baking mat. Bake for 8 minutes, until golden

Remove the lemon brittle from the oven and, while still hot, cut out semi-circles roughly the same size and shape as the pear slices. Set the brittle aside and leave to harden as it cools

To serve, place a sablé round in the centre of each plate and layer up slices of baked pear, finishing the stack with a piece of lemon brittle and a scoop of liquorice ice cream. Spoon a sweep of the pear purée across the edge of the plate and sprinkle over mint leaves and edible flowers to garnish

mint cress
edible flowers

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Massimo Spigaroli

Working on his grandfather's farm, Massimo Spigaroli manages to run a Michelin-starred restaurant at the same time as his charcuterie business, which produces the best Culatello in the world.

Pear tarte Tatin with liquorice ice cream and lemon brittle

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