Layered Caramel Pear Tart Food

VANILLA-SPICED CARAMEL AND PEAR TART

Steps:

• For crust:
• Roll out pastry to 12-inch square and trim off corners, forming slightly rounded crust. (If using all-butter puff pastry, roll out to 12-inch round.) Transfer pastry to 10-inch-diameter springform pan, pressing pastry firmly onto bottom and 1 to 1 1/2 inches up sides of pan. Freeze crust until firm, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep frozen.
• For pears:
• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over low heat. Add sugar and next 4 ingredients. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring until sugar melts and turns brown (color of peanut butter), about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; add pears, rounded side down. Cook until pears are almost tender, turning and moving skillet around occasionally to ensure even cooking, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on ripeness of pears. Carefully turn pears over; continue to cook until pears are very tender, about 10 minutes longer. Remove skillet from heat; cool pears in skillet with spices (pears will release juice while cooling).
• For filling:
• Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Add cinnamon, star anise, and cloves. Increase heat to medium; cook until butter is golden (watch to avoid burning), 3 to 4 minutes. Remove vanilla bean and spices from butter; discard. Whisk sugar, egg, and coarse salt in medium bowl. Whisk in flour. Gradually whisk browned butter into egg mixture. DO AHEAD: Pears and filling can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover separately; let stand at room temperature. Whisk filling before using.
• Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 400°F. Brush frozen crust with beaten egg white. Pour filling into crust; spread evenly over bottom of crust (filling will be very thin). Using slotted spatula, remove pears from skillet, allowing excess syrup to drain back into skillet; reserve syrup. Arrange pears, rounded side up, atop filling (about 9 around edge and 3 in center of pan).
• Bake tart until crust is deep golden and filling is set and brown at edges, about 1 hour. Run small knife around sides of pan to loosen tart. Release pan sides. Transfer tart to platter. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature to cool slightly until just warm.
• Just before serving, boil syrup in skillet until reduced to generous 1/3 cup, 1 to 2 minutes. Discard spices. Drizzle syrup over pears. Serve tart slightly warm.

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.

PEAR CARAMEL TART

Steps:

• In a large non-stick skillet, melt butter and stir in sugar. As mixture begins to bubble, remove from heat and spread out pears. Return skillet to heat and cook over medium high until golden brown syrup bubbles up. This process will take about 30 minutes. Roll out crust to flatten folds and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture. Place crust over pears and press down around edges. Cut slits in crust and brush with egg. Bake for 30 minutes until crust is golden brown. Allow skillet to cool for 2 minutes. Loosen edges of crust with paring knife. Invert tart onto plate and cool.

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.

SALTED CARAMEL PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 195C/175C fan/gas 5 ½. Butter and line the base of three 20cm round cake tins. Add the grated ginger to the grated pear and push down with a wooden spoon to squeeze out as much juice as possible.
• Mix the flours, spices, baking powder and 1 tsp salt in a bowl. In a stand mixer, vigorously whisk the eggs and sugars for 3 mins until thick and frothy. Slowly pour in the oil in a steady stream. Turn the speed down, then add the flour mixture, 2 tbsp at a time, alternating with the yogurt, until incorporated. Mix in the grated pear (for no longer than 20 secs). Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 25-30 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out dry.
• For the caramel, heat the pear juice and perry in a pan until reduced to about 50ml. Add the sugar and butter and whisk to a smooth caramel, then add the cream and whisk again until smooth. Add sea salt to your taste - I'd go for a generous pinch, so that the caramel is still fruity and sharp but has a little saltiness to it - then allow to cool slightly to just warmer than room temperature.
• To make the buttercream, put the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water, then whisk until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is no longer gritty. Put the bowl in the mixer, then whisk until soft peaks form and the bowl returns to room temperature. Switch to the paddle attachment, then add the butter, one spoonful at a time. Add the tahini, vanilla and a pinch of salt, and beat to a light, fluffy icing.
• Place the bottom layer of sponge on a platter or cake stand, then top with a layer of the buttercream and scatter over a third of the chopped pear. Repeat with the next two layers. To ice the cake, do an intial layer all over, chill in the fridge for 20 mins, then use the remaining icing to cover everything. Use a stepped spatula to spread it out evenly. Pour the caramel over the top of the cake, and allow it to drip down the sides. Scatter with toasted buckwheat, dehydrated pear and rosemary, if you like.

SALTED CARAMEL PEAR PIE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with baking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper so that there is a 2 inch overhang on the two long sides of the pan. (This makes it easier to lift the pie bars out of the pan after baking.)
• Beat the butter, brown and white sugars, and vanilla extract for crust in a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the flour and salt; mix at low speed until combined. Refrigerate dough for 10 minutes.
• With lightly moistened hands, press about 2/3 of the crust mixture evenly along the bottom of prepared pan; refrigerate pan for 5 to 7 minutes. Place the remaining 1/3 of the crust mixture in the fridge until needed.
• Bake crust in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool. Leave the oven on.
• To prepare the filling, toss the pear slices and lemon juice together in a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and salt; toss well to coat. Spread the pears evenly over the crust.
• Tear the reserved crust mixture into small pieces. Using your hands, combine the walnuts with the dough and scatter the mixture evenly over the pears.
• Bake in the preheated oven 1 hour, rotating pan halfway through, until the pears are fork-tender and the topping is golden brown. Cool completely in the pan, 1 to 2 hours.
• To prepare the caramel sauce, combine the sugar and water in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat; cook, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves.
• Increase the heat to medium-high; bring to a boil-without stirring, but instead, regularly swirling the pan and occasionally brushing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Cook, swirling and brushing regularly, until the syrup turns a deep amber color, 12 to 17 minutes.
• Gently pour in the heavy cream (the caramel will foam and bubbly up vigorously). Add in the butter pieces and stir gently until smooth. Remove the caramel from heat and stir in the salt.
• When ready to serve, use the parchment overhang to lift the slab from the pan and slice into bars. Drizzle with the caramel sauce.

ROASTED PEARS WITH CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place butter in a baking pan large enough to hold the pears in a single layer: set in the heating oven until it melts.
• Sprinkle sugar over melted butter, then place pears, cut side down, on top. Bake until tender, about 30 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven, turn pears over and baste with pan sauce. Return to oven; bake until golden and glossy, about 10 minutes longer.
• Let cool slightly. Transfer pears to dessert plates or bowls. Top each with dollop of sour cream, drizzle with caramel pan sauce, sprinkle with nuts and serve.

PEAR LAYER CAKE WITH CARAMEL

Steps:

• Peel, core and chop 2 pears. Prepare cake batter and bake as directed on package for 2 (8-inch) round layers, adding 1 pkg. dry pudding mix to the cake mix before mixing with liquid ingredients. Stir chopped pears into batter before spooning into pans for baking. Cool cakes in pans 10 min.; invert onto wire racks. Remove pans. Cool cakes completely.
• Meanwhile, microwave caramels and milk in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min.; stir. Microwave 2 min. or until caramels are completely melted, stirring after each minute. Add remaining pkg. dry pudding mix; whisk 2 min. Cool 15 min. Gently stir in COOL WHIP. Refrigerate 20 min. or until chilled.
• Fill and frost cake layers with caramel mixture. Just before serving, peel, core and slice remaining pear. Arrange pear slices on top of cake with nuts.

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!