Plum, Cherry and Five Spice Tarte Tatin

STEP 1: BLEND THE FIVE SPICE

Toast the star anise, broken cassia, fennel seeds, whole cloves and Sichuan peppercorns in a dry pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until they smell warm and nutty. Do not let them darken. Cool completely, then grind to a powder and pass through a fine sieve, discarding the woody fragments that will not go through. Store the surplus in a sealed jar away from light.

STEP 2: MAKE THE ROUGH PUFF

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and toss them through the flour with your fingers so each cube is coated, leaving them whole; rough puff depends on visible lumps of butter, not on rubbing them in. Mix the lemon juice into the ice water and add it a little at a time, cutting it through with a round-bladed knife, until the dough just holds. Shape into a rough rectangle, wrap and chill 20 minutes. On a floured surface roll it to a long rectangle about three times its width, fold the top third down and the bottom third up, give it a quarter turn and roll again. Do this four times in all, chilling 15 minutes after the second turn if the butter starts to break through. Wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.

STEP 3: MACERATE THE FRUIT

Halve and pit the plums; pit the cherries. Put them in a bowl with the granulated sugar, the five spice and the lemon juice, turn them over gently, and leave for a full hour at room temperature. The sugar will pull a third to half a cup of liquid out of the fruit. That liquid is what makes a stone fruit tatin wet, and this is the cheapest place to be rid of it.

STEP 4: DRAIN AND REDUCE

Tip the fruit into a sieve set over a bowl and let it drain for 10 minutes, turning it once. Do not press it. Pour the collected juice into a small saucepan and boil it hard until thick, glossy and reduced to about 2 tablespoons, a syrup rather than a liquid. Set it aside. Nothing is thrown away here: the flavor goes back into the caramel in the next step and only the water is lost.

STEP 5: MAKE THE CARAMEL

Put the caramel sugar and water in the tatin tin or skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl the pan but do not stir. Let it come to a deep amber, darker than feels comfortable, because the fruit will lighten it. Off the heat, whisk in the cold butter and the salt, then whisk in the reduced fruit syrup from the previous step. It will hiss and seize slightly; keep whisking and it will come back together.

STEP 6: DRY THE FRUIT IN THE PAN

Arrange the drained plum halves cut-side down in the caramel in tight concentric circles, then tuck the cherries into the gaps. Pack them closer than looks sensible; they shrink. Return the pan to medium heat and cook, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes, driving off the water the fruit is still holding while the caramel thickens back up around it. You are not trying to cook the fruit through. When the bubbling slows and the caramel coats the back of a spoon, take it off the heat and cool the pan for 20 minutes before the pastry goes anywhere near it.

STEP 7: LAY THE ALMOND BARRIER

Mix the ground almonds with the superfine sugar and scatter them evenly over the cooled fruit. It is a thin, almost invisible layer that absorbs whatever liquid the fruit gives up during the bake and keeps it off the pastry. In the finished tart it reads as an almond crumb between fruit and base.

STEP 8: TOP WITH THE PASTRY AND CHILL

Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with a heavy baking sheet on the middle shelf. Roll the chilled pastry to a circle about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wider than the pan and a scant 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick. Lay it over the fruit and tuck the overhang down inside the pan, between fruit and pan wall, all the way round; that tucked collar is what holds the tart together when you turn it out. Cut four or five vents through the pastry and chill the assembled pan for 20 minutes while the oven comes up to temperature. A cold, rested lid puffs harder and sets faster.

STEP 9: BAKE

Set the pan directly on the hot baking sheet, so the heat from underneath sets the pastry before the fruit can wet it. Bake 25 minutes, then drop to 400°F (200°C) for a further 12-15 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden all over and firm when tapped. If the top is running ahead of the rest, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it and keep baking.

STEP 10: REST BRIEFLY, THEN INVERT

Rest the pan on a rack for exactly 5 minutes. Longer and the caramel sets and grips the pan; shorter and it runs everywhere when you turn it. Run a knife round the edge, set the serving plate over the pan, hold both firmly with a cloth and invert in one confident movement. Lift the pan away, and lift any fruit that stays behind back into place with a palette knife. Serve warm, within the hour, with creme fraiche.