Tarte tatin with poached pears
Heel Holland Bakt winner Hans Spitsbaard teaches you in his book Leer bakken met Hans how to make the bakes from the show yourself. Poached pears are the ultimate dessert or side dish in cold weather; with this tarte tatin, you can also enjoy them with coffee.
Hans: ‘The “invention” of tarte tatin is attributed to the Tatin sisters, who discovered after baking the tart that they had forgotten the base. I gave this classic a truly Dutch twist by using poached pears.’
How to make Tarte tatin with poached pears
Peel the pears and place them upright in a large saucepan. Add the wine and sugar. Add enough water to the pan to completely cover the pears. Break the cinnamon sticks in half and add them along with the star anise. Bring the poached pears to the boil and simmer them for 1 hour over low heat. Remove the pears from the liquid and leave them to drain in a colander.
Breton shortcrust pastry
Mix the butter, sugar and egg yolks with a whisk. Sift the flour and baking powder and add
this to the butter mixture. Finally, add the salt and crumble the dough between your fingertips until it forms a cohesive dough. Try to knead it as little as possible; this keeps the dough crumbly in texture. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave it to rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Frangipane
Place the almond flour, butter, sugar, flour, lemon zest, eggs and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix everything until smooth. Transfer the frangipane to the piping bag.
Caramel sauce
Grease the tart pan with butter. Boil the sugar with 50 ml water until it becomes a golden-brown caramel. Make sure there are no sugar crystals on the edge of the pan; if necessary, brush them away with a moistened pastry brush. Add the butter in pieces and stir until you have a smooth caramel sauce. Pour the caramel sauce into the tart pan. Make sure the entire base is covered with a layer of sauce.
Assembly
Preheat the oven to 200 °C and grease the tart ring. Roll out the shortcrust pastry to a thickness of 0.5 cm and place the dough on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Press the tart ring into the dough and remove the excess dough from the baking sheet. Spread a layer of frangipane over the base. Leave a 2 cm border around the edge. Bake the base in the tart ring for about 25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. After baking, reduce the oven temperature to 175 °C.
Adding the pears
Remove the cores from the pears with an apple corer and cut them into quarters. Arrange the quarters in a fan shape in the tart pan, cut side down. Place the pieces as close together as possible, as the pears will shrink slightly in the oven. Bake the poached pears in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes. Then leave them to cool for about 5 minutes. Place the base with the frangipane upside down on the pears, then turn the tart over. Garnish with star anise.
Title: Leer bakken met Hans
Author: Hans Spitsbaard
Publisher: Kosmos
Price: €20
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