Fig and Pear Tatin
Serves Four
Pastry:
320g plain flour
220g unsalted butter
Sparse pinch of salt
110g icing sugar
Three egg yolks, beaten slightly with one tablespoon of cold water
Filling:
Four figs
Three conference pears
Two tablespoons of lemon juice, with one of water
100g unsalted butter
100g vanilla caster sugar
Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees celsius.
For the pastry:
Mix together the dry ingredients. Next rub in the butter, or pulse in a food processor, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Lastly add the yolks; hold back half and add it to the dough as needed. Once the dough is formed, kneed it lightly to bring it together. You do not want to over-kneed the dough, or the gluten will over-develop, making the pastry chewy and tough. Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and allow the dough to chill in the fridge, for at least 30 minutes.
When the pastry has chilled, remove it from the fridge and roll it out. Place the tin that you are using for the tart over it and cut a circle out. Place this circle back in the fridge to continue chilling.
For the tart:
Prepare the fruit; peel and quarter the pears and toss in the lemon juice mixture. Take the tops of the figs off and cut similarly into quarters. Place the tart tin on the heat with the butter. Allow the butter to melt slightly before adding the sugar. Make sure that you sprinkle the sugar into the tin evenly, covering the entire base. Next add the fruit in a spiral pattern, alternating between the pear and the fig. Now wait for a minute, while the butter and sugar start to caramelise, before placing the pastry on top of the fruit. Make sure that the edges are folded into the sides of the tin, to trap the steam and sugars.
Bake for 20 minutes. When you remove it from the oven, check the pastry is cooked. It should be lightly golden. Allow it to sit for a few minutes before turning it out on to a plate to reveal your beautiful fruit.
