Autumn Tarts

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Caramelized Pear Tart

3/4 cup sugar 3 tablespoons water 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut in pieces 6-8 firm pears Pastry for single crust, unbaked*

Place sugar and water in 8- or 9-inch cast-iron skillet. Bring to boil and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally but not constantly. Mixture will first dissolve, then foam, then thicken and turn a deep, rich amber-brown. At that point, remove it from the heat and stir in butter. You should now have caramel.

If you lift a tart pan by the bottom, it will obligingly come apart.

Peel, quarter, and core the pears. Arrange them in concentric circles, cut side up, on top of the caramel in the skillet. (Keep in mind that the tart will be inverted before it is served; the fruit on the bottom will be visible.) Continue layering pears until pan is full.

Return skillet to stove and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, until syrup thickens and is reduced by half. (Take care that the caramel doesn't burn.) Remove from heat. Place crust over skillet and trim, leaving about 1/2 inch over sides of pan. Tuck edges down into skillet around pears. Bake at 375°F 20-30 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Cool on rack 20 minutes, then loosen pastry from sides of pan with sharp knife, if necessary. Place serving dish over tart and invert quickly (and carefully). Serve immediately.

*For this tart, which requires a firmer crust, omit the sugar and egg yolk and add 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Embarrassing admission no. 3: I ruined three of these. (MOTHER'S publisher is perhaps the first to record a deficit under the heading "Pears.") General irritability led me to try a fourth, which was pretty and delicious. The tart is actually simple to make, assuming you avoid all of the pitfalls into which I dashed headlong. 1) Some cookbooks suggest lemon juice instead of water in the caramel. This produces a bitter undertaste and such comments as "Well, it certainly looks nice." Use water. It was good enough for Julia Child. 2) Don't try to make caramel over medium-low heat. The water will simply evaporate, leaving you with a pile of wet sugar. For the sugar and water to caramelize, you need medium-high heat. After you add the butter, the substance in the pan should look, smell and taste like caramel. If it looks and tastes like a mixture of sugar, water and butter, start over; it is not going to caramelize while it simmers on the stove another 20 minutes. Trust me. Save yourself some pears. 3) Don't rush the final resting time; let the tart stand a full 20 minutes before inverting it. Otherwise, the sauce won't have time to re-thicken, and when you flip the tart, you'll caramelize your kitchen. 4) Even caramel that refuses to harden under any other circumstances will become as rock when it hits a hot stove. Wipe up spills immediately.

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