Saturday, September 28, 2013

Pear Tarts


One of my neighbors gave us some pear a few weeks ago. Carlos is not a fan of pears and as for me I am just too lazy to chew on apple or pear. In order not to let it go to waste I used it for baking. I used some for making these tarts and some for cakes (will post the recipe up later) I am not a fan of soggy filling so I cooked down the pear first. We just love these tarts especially the flaky pastry and not so sweet pear filling. The tart is delicious with a dollop of whipped cream or you can even serve it warm with some vanilla ice-cream.
 
 

Ingredients for Filling:

3 pound of pears (I used Asian pears but you can use any type)
1/2 cup brown sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp butter



Ingredients for the pastry:

2 1/2 cups flour
3 tbsp cornstarch
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 sticks/226 gram butter, chilled and cubed
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cold water (if necessary)

For Glaze:

1 egg - beaten


1. Prepared the filling first – peeled, cored and cut pears into cubes. Heat up a non-stick pan, add in the butter. Once butter melted, add in pears and brown sugar. Cook down the pears until soft and juice thickens. Add in the lemon zest. Remove from heat and set it aside to cool.
2. Place the flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine ingredients. Add the butter, and using a pastry blender or your hands, cut the butter into the flour or rub it together until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
3. Add the egg and the vanilla extract, and mix until the dough begins to come together. If the mixture seems too dry and crumbly, add water a tablespoon at a time.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead just until combined [do not overwork the dough]. Shape the dough into a disc, and cover in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of the tart pan. Remove the disc of dough from the refrigerator, roll out the dough and line the bottom of a 9” tart pan or small tart pans. 6. Roll out the rest of the dough, cut the dough into strips. Spread the filling evenly over the bottom layer of dough. Carefully place the strips of dough over the filling, forming a crisscross or lattice pattern. Press the edges of the dough strips into the rim of the tart pan, removing any excess.
7. Brush the dough strips, the edges of the tart and the top of the tart/tarts with egg wash. Bake the tart until the top turns golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes (depend on your oven). Remove from the oven, and allow the tart to cool on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.
8. Serve warm or at room temperature.

8 comments:

Shereen said...

So pretty and impressive looking those tarts/ pies.I'm not a fan of soggy bottom pies/ tarts too. Will wait for you to replicate this recipe for me soon.. Hehe.

PH said...

Very pretty tarts, Gertrude! I laughed when you said you are too lazy to chew on apple or pear hah! hah!

Nayna Kanabar said...

These cute tarts look amazing.Drool worthy clicks.Please do drop by simply.food sometime.

lyly said...

Gert, your tarts look pretty and delicious ! Pear is in season now so thank you for sharing this recipe.

Lisa Ho said...

Beautiful bake :D
I love soft pears, easy on the old gum ;P

Dina said...

they look yummy!

Esther Lau said...

Very Beautiful and attractive tarts!

ICook4Fun said...

Shereen, soon. I can't wait :)

Phong Hong, I am a lazy eater. I hate food that I need to chew a lot :)

Nayna, thanks.

Lyly, yea lots of pears in the market now :)

Lisa, ha ha we need soft food now :)

Dina and Esther, thank you.