Upside-down pear tart recipe

Henry Dimbleby
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This is one of those versatile recipes. You can use almost any fruit – pears, apples, plums, nectarines, peaches and oranges all work well. When using soft fruit in this tart it is better if the fruit is slightly under-ripe. You can also play with the syrup: try a red wine syrup with star anise and plums. White wine, vanilla and nectarine make a subtle combination; with oranges try using shortcrust pastry and a really treacly syrup made with a little molasses as well as sugar. In this pear version, the flavour of the cardamom transforms this simple tart.

Ingredients

3 cardamom pods
1 orange, juiced and sieved
4 tbsp soft brown sugar
40 g butter
6 pears (small)
200 g puff pastry

Details

Cuisine: British
Recipe Type: Dessert
Difficulty: Medium
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 4

Step-by-step

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Crush the cardamom pods and keep the little seeds. In a saucepan heat the orange juice, sugar, butter and cardamom seeds until thick and bubbly. Pour the syrup into a 25cm flan tin (obviously it cannot be one with a push-out bottom or it will seep through and go everywhere).
Quarter the pears and cut out the cores (no need to peel them). Cut each quarter into thin slices and arrange symmetrically on top of the syrup in the flan tin.
Roll out the pastry and lay over the top of the pears in the tin. Cut off the excess around the edges. Sprinkle a little more sugar on top if you like.
Place the tin in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the pastry has risen and is golden. Put a serving plate on top, hold it tightly and flip the whole thing over. Tap the bottom of the tin to ensure that all the pear slices are on the plate, and remove it. A magically neat and tidy tart will appear.
Serve with cream or my Quick Real Custard.

Taken from Leon Book 2 by Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent

Published by Conran Octopus

Also worth your attention:

Henry Dimbleby's Quick Real Custard

Henry Dimbleby's Book - Leon Book 2, Naturally Fast Food

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