Pear Croustade Food

PEAR CROUSTADE

Steps:

• For Crust:.
• Mix flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to large bowl.
• Mix egg yolk and 1 1/2 tablespoons ice water in small bowl. Using fork, blend enough yolk mixture, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, into flour mixture to form moist clumps.
• Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F Roll out dough on floured parchment paper to 10-inch round.
• Transfer dough on parchment paper to large baking sheet.
• Filling:.
• Toss pears, sugar, flour, lemon juice and allspice in large bowl.
• Overlap pear slices atop dough, leaving 2-inch border. Fold border over fruit, pleating loosely and pinching to seal any cracks.
• Brush dough with egg white and drizzle cream over filing.
• Topping:.
• Mix flour and sugar in small bowl. Rub in butter with fingertips until mixture forms small clumps and sprinkle topping over filling.
• Bake tart until crust is golden and filling bubbles about 40 minutes.

PEAR CROUSTADE

Steps:

• For crust
• Mix flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to large bowl. Mix egg yolk and 1 1/2 tablespoons ice water in small bowl. Using fork, blend enough yolk mixture, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, into flour mixture to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic. Chill until firm, about 1 hour. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated. Let soften slightly before rolling out.)
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to °F. Roll out dough on floured parchment paper to 10-inch round. Transfer dough on parchment paper to large baking sheet.
• For filling
• Toss pears, sugar, flour, lemon juice and allspice in large bowl. Overlap pear slices atop dough, leaving 2-inch border. Fold dough border over fruit, pleating loosely and pinching to seal any cracks. Brush dough with egg white. Drizzle cream over filling.
• For topping
• Mix flour and sugar in small bowl. Rub in butter with fingertips until mixture forms small clumps. Sprinkle topping over filling.
• Bake tart until crust is golden and filling bubbles, about 40 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to rack; cool slightly, about 15 minutes. Slide metal spatula under crust to free from parchment. Using large tart pan bottom as aid, transfer tart to platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PEAR CROUSTADE WITH HAZELNUT-BROWN SUGAR TOPPING

Steps:

• Blend all ingredients in processor until clumps form, about 1 minute. Transfer to medium bowl. Cover and chill. (Do not clean processor bowl.)
• Combine both flours, hazelnuts, sugar and salt in same processor bowl. Blend until hazelnuts are finely chopped. Add butter and blend until coarse meal forms. Mix in 2 tablespoons ice water and process just until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic and chill 30 minutes. (Topping and dough can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)
• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper to 13-inch round, lifting paper, smoothing wrinkles and turning over as needed. Transfer dough on parchment paper to large unrimmed baking sheet. Remove top sheet of parchment.
• Combine pears, sugar and flour in large bowl; toss to coat.
• Mound pear mixture atop dough, leaving 2-inch border. Using parchment paper as aid, fold dough border over pears, pleating loosely and pinching to seal any cracks in dough. Sprinkle topping thickly over pears.
• Bake croustade until crust is golden, about 40 minutes. Cover very loosely with foil to prevent crust from over-browning and continue to bake until juices bubble thickly, about 12 minutes longer. Transfer baking sheet to rack; cool slightly. Slide metal spatula under crust to free from parchment. Using large tart pan bottom as aid, transfer croustade to platter. Serve warm with ice cream.

WINE-POACHED PEAR CROUSTADES WITH ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Stir wine, sugar, peppercorns, orange peel and bay leaf in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high; cover and boil 5 minutes. Add pears. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until pears are tender, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Chill until cold, about 6 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.)
• Remove pears from liquid. Strain liquid into heavy small saucepan. Boil until liquid is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Whisk cornstarch and orange juice in small bowl to blend. Add to saucepan and whisk until sauce boils and thickens, about 1 minute. Remove sauce from heat and cool slightly.
• Cut pound cake slices diagonally in half. Thinly slice pears lengthwise. Arrange 2 pound cake triangles and 1 sliced pear half on each of 6 plates. Top each with ice cream; drizzle with sauce.

JAM-FILLED CROUSTADES

Steps:

• Dough: In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over milk; stir until dissolved. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla seeds. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment, mix together 4 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and 1/2 stick butter on low speed until butter is incorporated and mixture resembles coarse meal, 3 to 4 minutes. Add yeast mixture; mix until dough just comes together. Add eggs and yolk; mix until just combined, 2 to 3 minutes (do not overmix).
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, making sure to include any loose bits left at bottom of bowl. Gently knead to form a smooth ball, about 30 seconds. Wrap tightly in plastic; refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together remaining 3 1/2 sticks butter and 2 tablespoons flour. Shape mixture into a 12-by-10-inch rectangle on a piece of plastic wrap. Refrigerate 15 minutes or up to 1 day. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to an 18-by-10-inch rectangle, a little over 1/4 inch thick, keeping the corners as square as possible. Remove any excess flour with a dry pastry brush. Remove butter mixture from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature until it is the same consistency as the dough. With a short side facing you, place butter mixture over two-thirds of the dough. Fold the unbuttered third over as you would a business letter, followed by the remaining third. This seals in the butter.
• Roll out dough again to an 18-by-10-inch rectangle, then fold into thirds as described above; refrigerate 1 hour. This completes the first of three turns. Repeat rolling and folding process two more times, refrigerating at least 1 hour between turns. To help you remember how many turns have been completed, mark the dough after each one: make one mark for the first turn, two for the second, and three for the third.
• Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to overnight. Dough can also be frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic, up to 2 weeks (thaw in refrigerator overnight before using).
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 20-by-16-inch rectangle, trimming edges if necessary. Using a ruler, cut into twenty 4-inch squares and transfer to one of three parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving an even amount of space between squares until you have two sheets with 7 squares each, and one sheet with 6 squares.
• Working with one square at a time, fold in half to form a triangle. Using a sharp pizza wheel, make a cut parallel to one of the short sides of the triangle, about 1/4 inch from the edge, stopping about 1/8 inch from the opposite short side. Make a second cut parallel to the opposite short side, about 1/4 inch from the edge, stopping about 1/8 inch from the first line. (Make sure lines do not meet.) Unfold triangle back into a square and brush egg wash along edges. Fold outer cut corners over to opposite inside corners. Press borders down to seal. Repeat with remaining squares. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Filling: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Fill center of each square with 1 tablespoon jam, then lightly brush dough with egg wash. Bake, rotating sheets from top to bottom halfway through, until deep golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely. Pastries are best served the same day.