Gingered Peach Tarte Tatin

Step 1

Melt the butter in a 9 or 10-inch oven-safe skillet over high heat- I like using my cast iron pan for this. Add the sugar and cook until the sugar caramelizes to a light amber colour, swirling the skillet regularly for even browning. Remove from heat. Add the grated ginger and stir to incorporate.

Step 2

Arrange the halved peaches pit side up in the skillet. Try and fit as many halves as possible in, to make the arrangement nice and snug. Return the skillet to the heat and cook on medium low for 20-25 minutes until the peaches have softened and the (now peach-infused) caramel peeking through is very thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and set aside.

Step 3

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Step 4

Roll the square of puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface, so that it roughly fits a 12 inch by 12 inch square (or circle, if you have such rolling skills). Gently transfer the rolled out dough to cover the peaches in the skillet. Tuck the overhanging dough around the peaches. Using a sharp knife, slice several small slits in the top of the dough, so that excess steam and moisture can escape during baking.

Step 5

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until pastry is golden and puffy. Remove from oven and allow the tart to cool for 10 minutes, to let the caramel congeal (just enough to remove it from the pan, but not so much that it sticks- if you let it cool for longer that is a-ok, just return the skillet to the stovetop for 5 minutes or so on low heat, to re-melt the caramel before flipping the tart out).

Step 6

Run a small, sharp knife along the outer edge of the pastry to remove it from the pan. Arm yourself with some oven mitts and the platter you would like to serve your tart on. Place the platter, face down, over the tart and quickly but carefully invert the skillet so that the tart settles on to the serving platter. The tart should pop out fairly easily, but give it a little tap if you need to, rearranging any peach pieces that might have come out of place after it's flipped out.

Step 7

Serve with vanilla ice cream.