Easy Pear Charlotte Recipes

PEAR CHARLOTTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large skillet, combine pears, 1/3 cup sugar, salt, and lemon juice and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until pears are soft and juicy, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to high and continue cooking until liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool to room temperature.
• In a medium bowl, combine butter, remaining tablespoon sugar, and cinnamon; mix until smooth.
• Lay the side of a 5-ounce ramekin on top of the bread, and cut bread into pieces that are 1/2 inch thicker than the height of the ramekin. Turn each piece on its side and slice 3/8 inch thick.
• Butter one side of each piece of brioche with the cinnamon-sugar butter. With a long side of the bread closest to you, cut each slice vertically into 4 equal pieces. Line only the sides of the ramekins with the brioche pieces, buttered side against the ramekins. Bread should fit snugly around ramekins without any gaps.
• Divide pear mixture evenly between each ramekin, pressing down to compact. Using a serrated knife, trim off any bread that extends above the rim of the ramekins.
• Place ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake until tops are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes, and then invert onto individual plates to unmold. Drizzle custard sauce around each charlotte and top with chantilly cream. Serve warm.

EASY PEAR CHARLOTTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add pears, sugar, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until pears are very soft and most liquid has evaporated, 20 to 25 minutes; remove from heat.
• Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter; set 1 tablespoon aside. Working with one slice at a time, brush butter onto bread, and arrange, buttered side down, along the sides of a 5-to-6-cup ovenproof bowl, overlapping slightly. Cover bottom with a single slice of bread. Reserve remaining bread to cover fruit.
• Fill lined bowl with pear mixture, mounding in center (fruit will settle during baking). Cover all with remaining bread slices; trim to fit tightly to edges of bowl. Brush with reserved butter, and press in firmly, sealing edges.
• Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 to 10 minutes in pan; turn out onto serving plate. Sift confectioners' sugar over the top. Use two large spoons to divide charlotte into pieces, and serve with lightly whipped cream.

PEAR CHARLOTTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put the pear slices in a large saute pan with 2/3 cup sugar, the salt, pear liqueur, and lemon juice. Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the pears are soft. Set aside to cool.
• Place the butter, the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar, and the cinnamon in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment on medium speed, cream the mixture until it is smooth.
• Butter each piece of brioche with the cinnamon butter. With the long side of the bread closest to you, cut each slice into 3 pieces. Line the sides of the ramekins with the brioche pieces, buttered-side against the ramekin.
• Compactly fill the inside of each ramekin with about 1/4 cup of the pear mixture. Trim off any brioche that sticks up above the ramekin.
• Bake the charlottes for 15 to 20 minutes, until the brioche is toasted.
• Spoon some of the vanilla custard sauce on 4 plates, and unmold the charlottes on top.
• Top each with a dollop of creme fraiche.
• Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a stainless steel mixing bowl until
• creamy. Set aside.
• Put the milk and the vanilla extract or vanilla bean in a heavy-bottomed saucepot. Scald the milk, and slowly whisk it into the egg mixture. Put the bowl over a pot of simmering water and cook the custard, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for about 5 minutes, until it begins to thicken. It should coat the back of the wooden spoon. Do not let it boil.
• Cool the custard sauce over an ice bath. Strain and refrigerate until ready to use. Custard sauce will keep for 2 days in the refrigerator.

INDIVIDUAL PEAR CHARLOTTES

Steps:

• Place an 11-inch, high-sided skillet or saute pan over high heat. Add half the pears and 1/3 cup sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pears are soft and just beginning to turn golden, 12 to 20 minutes (cooking time will vary depending on the type of pears and their ripeness). Remove skillet from heat, and transfer pears to a large bowl to cool. Repeat process with the remaining pears and 1/3 cup sugar.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Whisk in cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, and set aside.
• Cut the crusts from the bread. Cut each slice into three 1-by-2 1/4-inch strips. Discard the scraps, or save for making breadcrumbs. Generously brush one side of the bread strips with the butter mixture. Leaving the bottom open, line the sides of the jumbo muffin-tin cups with overlapping pieces of bread, with the buttered side facing out, against the tin, pressing as you go.
• Pack about 1 cup pear mixture into each muffin tin, making sure the pears are flush with the top of the tin and the bread slices. Place the tins in the oven, and bake until the bread is golden brown on the outside, about 20 minutes. Transfer the muffin tins to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Unmold the charlottes by inverting onto a baking sheet or cutting board. Serve immediately with vanilla bean creme anglaise and blackberry compote.