Autumn colours and autumn flavours always bring something romantically tender in me. A call for a deeper connection with oneself but also with the others. A need to share and love. A need for warmth and beauty.
Today is such a lovely day. Each year, I am blessed to celebrate on the same day two very special people. Both my husband and my father are born on exactly the same date, twenty years apart. Sounds like destiny? I call it magic. These delightful little gifts from beyond that make our world full of wonder. We cherish the moment, we cheer and sing, we cook, we play, we dance.
After the festive meal I am serving French Pear Tart Tatin, with vanilla ice-cream and a glass of German apricot brandy. Traditionally made with caramelised sugar, this version, using a single-blossom honey such as acacia, has a more mellow flavour. Too much sweet? No… the pear tart is so delicate it easily takes both the luxurious brandy and the soothing ice-cream. Such a rich indulgence on a special day!
Ingredients
- 150 ml acacia honey
- 3 2/3 pears, quartered
- 375 g sheet of butter-puff pastry
- Vanilla ice-cream, to serve (optional)
Method
1. Preheat oven to 200C. Cook honey in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat until dark caramel in colour (10 minutes), remove from heat and let bubbles subside. Pour the caramel in a 25 cm-diameter cake form. Arrange pears over caramel, to fit snugly, and stand until cool.
2. Meanwhile, using a plate slightly larger than the cake form as a template, cut a round of pastry. Place over pears, tucking in edges, then bake until pastry is risen and dark golden (35 minutes).
3. Let the cake rest for 5-10 minutes, then place a large serving plate over the form and carefully invert onto plate (be very careful, the caramel will be hot).
4. Serve immediately with vanilla ice-cream.
