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1
Pate sucree. Put all ingredients except the water in food processor. Pulse about a dozen times until the mixture starts to come together. Add ice water a little at a time and pulse a few times with each addition. Stop when the dough looks like couscous. Freeze for about 30 minutes (or store in freezer until the next time you want to make a tarte and then defrost for about 20 minutes so it is easy to roll out).
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2
Preheat. Preheat oven to 400u00b0F
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3
Reduce. Bring wine and cinnamon sticks to a boil, reducing down to about 1/4 C of syrup. This takes about 10 minutes. The kitchen will start to smell like cinnamon.
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4
Caramelize. In the tarte tatin pan, melt butter in the wine syrup over low-medium heat (I use #4 on my induction oven), add the sugar, and swirl around until the mixture turns into a caramel.
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5
Cut. While the wine is boiling and then the sugar is caramelizing, peel and core the pears. I used a mini melon baller to help core them. I have made this with halves and quarters and find that while halves may look prettier, quarters make the tarte easier easier to slice and eat.
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6
Cook. Arrange the halves (cut side up) or quarters (on their sides) in a circle around the pan (still on low heat) with thin ends pointed in. Cook for 20-25 minutes over low heat. The caramel will bubble up as as the pears soften and pear juices seep out.
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7
Roll. Take cold pate sucree out of freezer/fridge and roll between two sheets of wax paper into a circle about 1-2 inches larger than your tatin pan. Remove the top sheet, flip the crust over the fruit, and peel away the wax paper, tucking the dough in around the edges.
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8
Bake. Bake 30 minutes until crust turns a nice brown.
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9
Unveil. After cooling the tarte for a few minutes, place a plate (slightly larger than the tatin pan) over the pan, hold your breath for a second, and carefully flip the tatin onto the plate. Excellent warm or at room temperature. Try it with vanilla ice cream or gelato.
