Caramelised Pear Brandy Tarte Tatin
This recipe for a Pear Brandy Tarte Tatin from Zodiac’s head bartender, Nick, is a warming treat as we start to enter the cold months. Using seasonal pears, Nick teaches us how to make our own caramelised pear brandy, which is then paired simply with cream and shaken, creating a delicious aperitif.
Pear brandy
Ingredients
8 standard brown pears, skinned, halved, and deseeded.
Method
Leave the skinned pear halves on a tray overnight in the refrigerator. This will allow some of the natural sugars to express themselves.
Add 1 1/2 cups of white caster sugar to the bottom of a wide steel pot, and place the pear halves flat side down over top.
Bring to high heat, and begin to lightly stir the pear around the pot as the sugar begins to caramelise. The pears will be ready when they all carry an even coat of caramelised sugar, which will take approximately 15-20 minutes.
Transfer the pears and all sugary residue from the pot to a sterile 1L mason jar.
Fill the jar to the top with a brandy of choice (St. Remy V.S.O.P in this case). Seal the jar and leave unrefrigerated. This will help to extract more flavour from the pears. After only 24 hours, your caramelised pear brandy will be ready to enjoy. 48 hours will intensify the flavour. The result should be approximately 600-700 mls of pear brandy liqueur.
Pear Brandy Tarte Tatin
Ingredients
90mls of Caramelised Pear Brandy
30mls of cream
Method: Add components to an iced cocktail shaker and shake. Single strain into a chilled tumbler with a single large moulded ice cube or “up” in a cocktail glass. Garnish with pear and a whole cinnamon quill.