Fresh pears and spiced red wine caramel make this dessert stand out, while store-bought puff pastry makes it easy to prepare.
Ingredient
2 cups dry red wine
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon pear liqueur (optional)
5 firm, ripe Bartlett pears—peeled, cored and halved
One 14-ounce sheet all-butter puff pastry, chilled
Crème fraîche, for serving
Direction
In a small saucepan, boil wine with the cinnamon sticks over moderately high heat until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 15 minutes. Discard cinnamon sticks.
In a 12-inch skillet, combine sugar and water. Cook over moderately high heat, swirling pan occasionally, until a light-amber caramel forms, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add red wine syrup along with butter and liqueur and cook to dissolve hardened caramel, about 1 minute. Add pear halves to skillet and cook over low heat, turning occasionally, until pears are tender and pan juices are syrupy, about 20 minutes. Arrange pears cut side up in skillet with thin ends pointing toward center. Let cool for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pastry to a 13-inch square. Using a skillet lid as a template, cut pastry into a 12-inch round. Cut four 2-inch-long steam vents in pastry and lay it over pears, tucking edges into skillet. Bake until pastry is deeply golden and risen, 55 minutes to 1 hour. Let tart cool in the skillet for 10 minutes, then very carefully invert tart onto a large plate or platter. Cut into wedges and serve with crème fraîche.
