Last week on a rare day off I was watching the BBC America station. Gordon Ramsay’s The F Word was on and I perked up as he made these easy gorgeous individual Pear Tatins studded with Star Anise. I had a bunch of commercial supply puff pastry in my freezer, left over from a event and a few apples left from my solitary apple picking adventure the week before. I was determined to try this stunning simple dessert with what I had and it didn’t disappoint.
The recipe is simple and you just need some fresh hard fruit , peeled and cored, sugar, butter, cinnamon or star anise, and maybe a splash or rum or brandy. Be creative. And of course serve with ice cream or whipped cream to up the indulgence factor. Your guests will be amazed and it saves the terror of flipping over a whole Tarte Tatin.
Here is Gordon’s version
And here is my breakdown
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons of butter
- 2-3 large apples peeled, halved and cored
- 4-6 squares of puff pastry
- squeeze lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons Brandy or rum
- 4-6 whole pods of Star Anise
- Prep your apples by peeling, halving, and removing the inner core and stem. Squeeze with lemon juice to prevent browning.
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- In a heavy stainless steel skillet melt butter and sugar carefully and slowly until its starts to caramelize and brown. Be careful not to burn from sugar. You can add a splash or rum or brandy to the caramel.
- Quickly stud each apple halve with star anise . Wrap each piece individually with puff pastry leaving the flat half free and exposed.
- Place each pastry wrapped halve in the skillet with the caramelized sugar face down.
- Sprinkle with additional sugar is optional.
- Arrange in pan, and place in oven. Bake until golden .
- Serve face up and with ice cream or whipped cream.
