Caramelized Pear Tarts With Cardamom Cream Food

CARAMEL PEAR TART

Steps:

• Crust:
• In food processor, combine flour and sugar; sprinkle with butter cubes.
• Pulse until fine crumbs. Drizzle in cream and process until dough clumps together.
• Press into a 10-inch (25 cm) tart pan with removable bottom. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chilled.
• Meanwhile, prepare filling and topping:.
• In a saucepan over medium heat, heat sugar and 1/3 cup (75 mL) water, stirring until dissolved.
• Bring to boil; boil gently until syrup is a deep caramel colour. Carefully add 3/4 cup (175 mL) cream; stir until smooth.
• Remove from heat and let cool.
• Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Peel pears; cut in half lengthwise and remove stems and cores.
• Cut each half crosswise into thin slices, keeping shape intact.
• Place flat side down in tart shell, fanning slices out slightly.
• Set 1/4 cup (50 mL) caramel aside for topping.
• In a bowl, whisk egg with flour until smooth; whisk in remaining caramel until blended. Pour evenly over pears.
• Bake in bottom of oven for about 45 minutes until crust is golden and custard is set.
• Let cool until slightly warm.
• In a bowl, whip remaining cream; fold in reserved caramel.
• Serve slices of tart with a dollop of caramel cream.
• Rich and delicious!

CARAMELIZED UPSIDE-DOWN PEAR TART

Steps:

• Peel, halve, and core pears.
• In a 9- to 10-inch ovenproof non-stick skillet or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet heat butter over moderate heat until foam subsides and stir in sugar (sugar will not be dissolved). Arrange pears, cut sides up, in skillet, with side parts at rim of skillet. Sprinkle pears with cinnamon and cook without stirring until sugar mixture forms a deep golden caramel. (This can take as little as 10 minutes or as much as 25, depending on skillet and stove.) Cool pears completely in skillet.
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough into an 11-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) and arrange over caramelized pears. Tuck edge around pears. Bake tart in middle of oven until pastry is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Have ready a rimmed serving plate slightly larger than skillet. As soon as tart has finished baking, invert plate over skillet and, wearing oven mitts and keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together, invert tart onto plate. (This is a bit scary, but it works!)
• Serve tart at room temperature or chilled with whipped cream or ice cream.

PEAR TARTS WITH CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• To make the almond cream: In the bowl of an electric mixer or with a wooden spoon, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, beat in well, and add the Amaretto. Stir in the ground almonds and flour until evenly mixed. The mixture should be the consistency of a thick paste.
• To make the caramel sauce: In a small sauce pan, combine the brown sugar, butter and cream. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil vigorously for 2 minutes, remove from the heat. Cover and keep warm at the back of the stove.
• To make the tarts: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to a 1/8 inch thickness and, using a plate or cardboard circle as a template, use a very sharp knife to cut four 7 inch circles. Spread a circle of almond cream in the center of each, leaving a 1inch border. Fan the sliced pears out from the center of each tart, completely covering the almond cream but still leaving the border. Beat the egg yolk lightly with a fork and brush the border of the pastry with it (try not to let any yolk dribble down onto the cut edges of the pastry, otherwise it will not rise as high). Bake the tarts for about 20 minutes, until the edges are golden and the pastry is baked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes Place a sprig of mint in the center of each tart and sprinkle it with a little confectioners sugar. Serve warm, drizzled with the warm caramel sauce.

CARAMELIZED PEAR TART

Steps:

• In a sauté pan on medium, melt unsalted butter; stir in 2 Tablespoons of the sugar.
• Simmer, stirring occasionally, until butter and sugar begin to turn golden brown and caramelize.
• Add pear slices and cook slowly over low heat to tenderize and caramelize, stirring gently occasionally. Watch carefully to prevent burning.
• Arrange caramelized pears in short crust pie shell.
• Mix together eggs with the remaining sugar, cream, ground almonds and pear brandy, if using.
• Pour mixture over pears.
• Preheat oven to 410 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degree Celsius) .
• Bake for about 25 minutes.
• Rest for three to five minutes before serving.
• Serve with rich custard or vanilla ice cream.

HAZELNUT, PEAR AND CARDAMOM TART

Steps:

• Prepare the Shortcut Pie Crust through Step 3.
• When ready to make the pie, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Roast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet until evenly browned and skins are loosened, 25 to 30 minutes. While they are still warm, rub them together in a dish towel to remove the skins. Cool the skinned hazelnuts, and then blitz them to a fine meal with the flour in the food processor. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
• Crush the cardamom pods and retrieve the seeds, discarding the pods, then crush the seeds to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle.
• In a food processor, cream the butter, granulated sugar and crushed cardamom until pale and fluffy. With the machine running, add eggs one at a time, emulsifying each one fully before adding the next, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Transfer to the bowl with the hazelnut meal and stir to combine. Chill until firm, about 1 hour.
• While the frangipane chills, shape and bake the crust: Working over an 11-inch fluted tart pan, prepare the Shortcut Pie Crust through Step 4, then chill, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. (This can be done ahead.)
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the chilled crust until just-cooked but not browned, about 15 minutes. (The crust will continue to cook while the tart bakes, so expect it to darken in color when it bakes the second time.) Cool completely.
• Scoop the hazelnut frangipane into the crust. (Don't try to spread it; it will distribute itself evenly as it cooks.) Nestle the pears into the frangipane, tucking some underneath the frangipane and leaving others on top.
• Bake on a baking sheet until the frangipane is fully set in the center and the crust is golden brown, 75 to 90 minutes. Cool on a wire rack completely, then remove from the pan and serve with crème fraîche.

CARAMELIZED PEAR TARTS WITH CARDAMOM CREAM

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
• Roll out pastry into a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Brush off excess flour and cut out 4 (5-inch) rounds by tracing around an inverted plate or bowl with tip of a small sharp knife. Prick pastry rounds all over with a fork and transfer to baking sheet. Bake until rounds are puffed and golden, 12 to 15 minutes, then cool on baking sheet on a rack.
• While pastry bakes, toss pear halves with lemon juice in a bowl. Cook 1/2 cup granulated sugar and a pinch of salt in a dry 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, swirling skillet (to help sugar melt evenly), until caramel is deep golden, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter with a wooden spoon (mixture will bubble vigorously). When bubbling begins to subside, immediately add pear halves, cut sides down, and cook over moderately low heat, covered, turning over once, until pears are tender when pierced with a small sharp knife, about 13 minutes total. Remove from heat.
• Beat cream, cardamom, and remaining tablespoon granulated sugar in a bowl with a whisk or an electric mixer until it just holds soft peaks.
• Put each pastry round on a small plate and dust lightly with confectioners sugar if desired. Spoon some of caramel sauce onto center of each round and top with a pear half, cut side down. Serve with cardamom cream on the side.