Quick Pear Tarts With Ice Cream 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.

RUSTIC PEAR TART

Steps:

• To prepare the crust, in a medium bowl whisk together the whole-wheat pastry flour, all- purpose flour, granulated sugar and salt. Add the butter and using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until you get a pebbly, course texture. In a small bowl combine the buttermilk and ice water. Using a fork, gradually mix the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Pat the dough into a 4-inch round and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, and prepare the filling. Peel the pears, core them and cut into 1/4-inch slices. In a large bowl toss the pear slices with the lemon juice. Sprinkle in the cornstarch, brown sugar and cinnamon and toss until the pears are evenly coated. Set aside.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a large circle about nine inches in diameter. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and draping the dough over the rolling pin, transfer to the prepared baking sheet. If the dough breaks at all patch it up with your fingers.
• Arrange the pears in a mound in the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch boarder. Fold the border over the filling. It will only cover the pears partially and does not need to be even.
• Bake the tart for 15 minutes, and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, keeping the tart in the oven all the while, and bake for another 40 minutes, until the pears are tender and the crust is golden brown.
• In a small bowl stir together the honey and boiling water to make a glaze. When the tart is done remove it from the oven and brush the honey glaze all over the top of the fruit and crust. Transfer to a plate to cool slightly. Cut into 6 wedges and serve warm or a room temperature.

QUICK PEAR TARTS WITH ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Roll out 1 pastry sheet on floured work surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Using 6-inch plate as aid, cut out 2 rounds. Repeat rolling and cutting with second pastry sheet, forming 4 rounds total. Place rounds on heavy large baking sheet, spacing apart. Using 1 pear half for each tart, fan out pear slices in center of each round. Brush tarts with melted butter; sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake until pears are tender and pastry is golden, about 22 minutes. Transfer tarts to plates. Top each with ice cream and drizzle with brandy.

QUICK PEAR TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon together. Lay puff pastry sheet on a work surface brush with melted butter and sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar. Cut into 6 even pieces. Fan the pear slices over the puff pastry, using 1/2 a pear for each puff pastry square. Sprinkle tops of pear tarts with remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake until pastry is golden and cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove from tart from oven, sprinkle with cheese and bake until cheese melts, 5 minutes more.

SECKEL PEAR TART WITH POIRE WILLIAM CREAM

Steps:

• Make shell:
• Roll out dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 20-by 8-inch rectangle, reflouring surface as necessary. Transfer to tart pan, gently fitting dough into pan without stretching. Trim overhang to 3/4 inch, cutting off corners. Fold overhang inward to reinforce side, then trim flush with edge of pan. Reserve excess pastry for another use if desired. Prick bottom of tart shell all over with a fork and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.
• Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights, then bake until sides are set, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake shell until golden brown all over, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool completely in pan.
• Poach pears:
• Put wine in a wide 4-quart pot and set a sieve lined with dampened flour sack cloth over it. Grate Bartlett pears (including skin) on large holes of a box grater into cloth, then bunch up cloth around mixture and squeeze as much clear juice as possible through cloth into pan with wine. Discard solids remaining in cloth. Transfer wine mixture to a 2-cup measure and add enough water, if necessary, to bring total to 2 cups liquid, then return to pan and stir in sugar.
• Carefully peel Seckel pears, leaving stems intact, then core through bottom with tip of vegetable peeler or a small knife to remove seeds.
• Bring wine mixture to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then add pears, in 1 layer if possible. Simmer, tightly covered, turning occasionally, until tender, about 20 minutes. Carefully transfer pears with a slotted spoon to a rack set over a 4-sided sheet pan to drain and cool, standing them upright. Transfer pear syrup to cleaned 2-cup measure, adding any juices from sheet pan under pears (you will have 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups syrup), and reserve for pastry cream and glaze.
• Make pastry cream:
• Whisk together egg yolks and cornstarch in a small bowl, then whisk in 1 cup pear syrup. Transfer to a small heavy saucepan and scrape in seeds from vanilla bean, reserving pod for another use. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking, then cook, whisking, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in poire William and butter. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely, its surface covered.
• Make glaze:
• Stir together poire William and gelatin in a very small bowl and let stand 1 minute.
• Bring remaining pear syrup to a boil in a very small heavy saucepan, then boil, if necessary, until reduced to about 1/3 cup. Stir in gelatin mixture until dissolved. Remove from heat.
• Remove side of tart pan. Whisk cooled pastry cream to loosen, then spread in shell. Stand pears upright on pastry cream, arranging them in 8 rows of 2 or 3.
• When glaze has cooled and thickened slightly (to speed cooling, set pan in an ice bath), brush it on pears. If glaze gels in pan, reheat very briefly.

STICKY PEAR TARTS WITH ROQUEFORT CREAM

Steps:

• Unravel the pastry and cut out two 15cm diameter circles using a saucer or small plate as a guide. Put them on a tray and prick all over with a fork. Peel, core and halve the pears lengthways. Finely slice each half and arrange in a neat overlapping circle in the middle of the pastry, leaving a 2cm border. Roll up and crimp the edges of the pastry to tuck the pears neatly into the tart. Can be prepared up to 1 day ahead and kept in the fridge; if the pears brown a little, it won't show.
• To make the cream, whisk the cream and honey together to form soft peaks, add the cheese and continue to whisk. Scrape into a small container and chill until needed. Can be made 1 day ahead.
• Put a baking tray in the oven and heat to 200C/180C/gas 6. For the glaze, put the sugar in a pan over a medium heat until it melts and caramelises. Pour this over the pears, then put the tarts on the hot baking tray and cook for 15 mins until they're puffed up and golden. Lift the tarts onto warmed plates and serve with a spoonful of the Roquefort cream so it melts on top.