Hasselback Pear Tart Food

PEAR TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Beat butter, sugar and cinnamon until crumbly. Beat in flour and walnuts. Press onto bottom and up sides of a 9-in. fluted tart pan with a removable bottom coated with cooking spray., For filling, beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Spread into crust. Arrange pears over top. Mix cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over pears., Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°; bake until filling is set, 15-20 minutes. Cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

HASSELBACK PEAR TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Fit puff pastry into a 10-inch square tart pan with removable sides.
• Place a pear half, cut-side down, onto a work surface. Place a chopstick above and below the pear half, so the pear is framed on the top and bottom. Thinly slice the pear half lengthwise, stopping when the knife hits the chopstick and leaving the bottom 1/4 inch of the pear intact. Repeat with the remaining pear halves.
• Place hasselbacked pears in a bowl; add white sugar and lemon juice and gently toss to coat. Let hasselbacked pears stand for 5 minutes.
• Mix cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract together in a bowl; spread over puff pastry. Arrange hasselbacked pears over cream cheese layer, cutting some of the halves into quarters if needed to fit them in. Slightly fan out each pear and drizzle any accumulated juices from the pear bowl over pears. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over tart.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crust is puffed and lightly browned and juices are bubbling, about 35 minutes. Cool tart for 15 minutes before slicing.

PEAR CHEESECAKE TART

Steps:

• For crust: combine graham crackers, almonds, cinnamon and melted butter and toss with a fork so that butter is distributed.
• Press onto bottom and sides of a 12-inch springform pan.
• Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• For filling: Beat cream cheese with sugar and cream until light and fluffy.
• On lowest setting of mixer add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Fill crust with this batter.
• Cut each pear half once again in half (making quarters) and place decoratively over cream cheese filling.
• Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until just done.

HASSELBACK PEAR TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Fit puff pastry into a 10-inch square tart pan with removable sides.
• Place a pear half, cut-side down, onto a work surface. Place a chopstick above and below the pear half, so the pear is framed on the top and bottom. Thinly slice the pear half lengthwise, stopping when the knife hits the chopstick and leaving the bottom 1/4 inch of the pear intact. Repeat with the remaining pear halves.
• Place hasselbacked pears in a bowl; add white sugar and lemon juice and gently toss to coat. Let hasselbacked pears stand for 5 minutes.
• Mix cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract together in a bowl; spread over puff pastry. Arrange hasselbacked pears over cream cheese layer, cutting some of the halves into quarters if needed to fit them in. Slightly fan out each pear and drizzle any accumulated juices from the pear bowl over pears. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over tart.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crust is puffed and lightly browned and juices are bubbling, about 35 minutes. Cool tart for 15 minutes before slicing.

CARAMELIZED PEAR TART

Steps:

• Lightly grease a 9-inch tart pan with removeable sides.
• In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt and pulse briefly to mix.
• Add the shortening and cut it into the flour mixture using quick on/off pulses until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg and the vanilla and process just until moist clumps form, pulsing the processor on and off.
• Gather the dough into a ball and using your fingertips, press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the preapred tart pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Halve each pear lengthwise and scoop out the core with a melon baller or spoon. Peel and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. There should be about 5 cups.
• Melt the butter over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet and stir in the brown sugar. When the sugar has dissolved and is bubbly, add the pears to the skillet sprinkling them with lemon juice and let the pears cook in the sugar syrup, stirring gently so as not to break up the slices. The pears will, at first, release quite a bit of juice - allow this to simmer until the liquid reduces to a thick syrup and the pears have begun to caramelize. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425°F Gently spoon the pears into the prepared tart shell, spreading them out evenly. Sprnikle with the sliced almonds. Bake for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and continue baking for 25-30 minutes, until the almonds are toasted and pear filling is bubbly.
• Let cool before removing the sides of the tart pan to serve.