Pear Mascarpone Custard Recipes

PEAR MASCARPONE CUSTARD

Steps:

• Position oven rack in the middle of oven; preheat oven to 375°; lightly butter and 11 x 7 inch baking dish.
• Drain the pear halves, reserving 3/4 cup of the syrup.
• Put pear halves on a cutting surface, flat side down, and score the rounded side with shallow, crosswise cuts; arrange the pears in the prepared baking dish.
• Add flour and sugar to a blender or food processor; blend or process until combined.
• Add in the mascarpone, eggs, vanilla, reserved pear syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
• Blend/process until the batter is smooth, about 20 seconds.
• Pour batter over the fruit; sprinkle with the brown sugar.
• Bake custard until puffy and light brown and the center is set when gently shaken, about 25-30 minutes.
• Remove from oven and cool on a baking rack for 5-10 minutes; serve warm.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS WITH VANILLA BEAN CUSTARD

Steps:

• For the pears: Remove a large strip of peel from the lemon and set aside. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a medium bowl filled with water. Peel, halve and core the pears, adding the pears to the lemon water as you work (this will prevent them from browning).
• Combine the wine, sugar, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon stick and reserved lemon peel in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves.
• Remove the pears from the lemon water and add to the wine mixture. Boil the pears until tender, 8 to 10 minutes on each side. Remove the pears from the poaching liquid to a wire rack to cool. If desired, continue to boil the poaching liquid until syrupy, about 10 minutes.
• For the vanilla bean custard sauce: Combine the cream and milk in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add to the cream mixture along with the scraped bean. Place over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges, then remove from the heat and remove the vanilla bean.
• Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until combined. Gradually add a little of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly until combined. Gradually add the remaining cream, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 6 minutes. Remove the custard from the saucepan and cool slightly.
• To serve, spoon some of the custard sauce onto serving plates and top each with a pear half. Dollop with whipped cream and sprinkle with candied pecans, if desired.

PEAR GRATIN WITH MASCARPONE CUSTARD

Steps:

• To make the custard, heat the milk in a heavy saucepan until it is almost boiling. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks until they are light and pale-colored. Beat sugar into the yolks, tablespoon by tablespoon. Add flour and beat until smooth. Add heated milk to the yolk mixture in a slow stream, beating constantly. Beat until smooth. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and chill.
• When the mixture is thoroughly chilled, remove from refrigerator and whisk until smooth. Fold the mascarpone into the mixture. In a separate bowl, beat the cream until medium-stiff and fold into the custard mixture. Stir in vanilla and chill until ready to use.
• To make the gratin, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Melt the butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add sugar and stir constantly until a golden brown caramel develops. Remove from heat.
• Arrange the pear halves, cut side down, on top of the caramel and scatter minced ginger, if desired, over the pears. Cover the pears with foil and bake for 15 minutes or until tender when pierced with a skewer.
• Place two pear halves in each of six individual gratin dishes. Divide the caramel among the dishes. Pour about 1 cup of custard into each gratin dish, covering the pears. Place the gratin dishes on a baking sheet for easier handling and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
• Change the oven setting to broil. Place gratins on the upper rack of the oven and broil carefully until the custard bubbles and browns, about 1 1/2 minutes. Watch very carefully; do not burn.

BAKED PEAR CUSTARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray a 9" cake pan with cooking spray and place the pear slices in the pan.
• Whisk the butter, eggs, milk, salt, granulated sugar, flour and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.
• Pour the batter over the pears. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the custard is golden and firm to the touch. Dust the top with powdered sugar before serving.