Vanilla Spiced Caramel And Pear Tart Recipes

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.

SPICED PEAR TART

Steps:

• Poach the pears: Combine 2 cups/480 milliliters water, sugar, vanilla extract and star anise pods in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Place the pears in the poaching liquid and cover with a lid. Keep just below a simmer and cook until the pears are tender, about 40 minutes depending on the ripeness of the pears. Remove the pears from the liquid to a plate and cool completely. Slice each pear half crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Set aside.
• While the pears poach and cool, make the pastry: Trim a sheet of puff pastry to one 4 1/2-by-12 inch rectangle. From the remaining puff pastry, cut two 1-by-12-inch strips. Transfer rectangle and strips to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
• Using a pastry brush, brush the beaten egg in a thin 1-inch strip along both long edges of the puff pastry, then place the strips of puff pastry on top. (You should have a rectangle of puff pastry with a puff pastry border down each of the long sides.) Use the back of a chef's knife or the tines of a fork to gently press the strips of puff pastry into the rectangle. Prick the pastry all over with a fork, then refrigerate for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Brush the puff pastry all over with egg wash, then line the center with parchment and fill with baking weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway through. Remove the parchment and baking weights. Bake until golden brown, about 3 more minutes. As soon as you pull it out of the oven, trim the edges with a knife so the layers line up, if necessary. If the center has puffed up, gently prick with a fork or toothpick to release air. Allow to cool completely.
• While the pastry bakes and cools, make the pastry cream: Combine the milk, vanilla extract, and half the sugar (using 2 tablespoons/30 grams) in a pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-low. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons/30 grams sugar and the cornstarch, then whisk in the yolks. Whisking the eggs and cornstarch continuously, carefully add 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks, and whisk well to combine. Now, whisking the hot milk mixture in the pot continuously, add the egg yolks and cornstarch mixture to the pot. Continue whisking until it thickens. (It happens fast!) Immediately remove from the heat and whisk in the softened butter until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• While pastry cream cools, make the glaze: Combine the pear purée, sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer until slightly reduced and glossy, about 3 minutes. Strain and chill.
• Transfer the puff pastry to a serving platter. Spread about 1 1/2 cups pastry cream down the center of the pastry shell. Place the sliced pear halves over the pastry cream in alternating directions. Brush each pear with a thick layer of pear glaze. Garnish any areas between the pears with toasted almonds. Dust the whole tart with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

PAM'S RUSTIC CARAMEL PEAR TART

Steps:

• 1. Defrost the puff pastry in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for 1 1/2 hr. Take out one sheet, unfold on a lightly floured or vegetable sprayed counter. Cut 1/2 - 3/4 inch strips from all four sides of the sheet. Moisten the edges of the large sheet and place the strips on the edges of the rectangle. These will puff up and form a thicker edge. Prick the main base all over with a fork to keep it from rising too much while baking. Transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet and refrigerate for about 1 hour while making the filling.
• 2. Mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and egg with a hand mixer until smooth and well blended. Scrape the bowl a couple of times to make sure you have it all mixed. Set aside.
• 3. Peel, core and slice pears into about 1/4" slices. Sprinkle with lemon juice and set aside. Heat oven to 375 F with the rack in the middle of the oven.
• 4. Take the pastry out of the fridge and spread the cream cheese mixture over the inside of the rectangle, trying not to go over the edge strips. Lay the pear slices as close as possible together to cover most of the custard mixture, again,keeping them off the edge pastry strip.
• 5. Sprinkle the pears and pastry edges with the cinnamon and sugar mixture. (I sometimes use a little more straight cinnamon sprinkled on top) Bake at 375° F for 25 to 35 minutes or until the crust gets a nice golden brown and the pears are browned and tender.
• 6. Remove from the oven. Let cool for about 15 minutes. Microwave some of the caramel topping in a small bowl until semi-liquid. Drizzle the entire surface with a light coating of caramel. Then melt some of the white chocolate (about 3 to 4 oz) until spreadable, and either drizzle with a fork over the top, or place the warm chocolate in a small zipper bag, cut off a tiny tip of the bag and squeeze the chocolate over in a pretty pattern. Let cool or serve warm with ice cream if desired.
• 7. For the Variation: Spray an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Mix 3/4 cup each of crushed vanilla wafers and gingerbread cookies with 1/4 c sugar and 1/4 c melted butter. Place in prepared pan and press lightly. Using the same cream cheese custard mixture as above, spread the mixture over the crumb base. Chop pears into 3/4" chunks and distribute over the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle liberally with either cinnamon and sugar mixture, with sugar and freshly grated nutmeg, or with brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350°F for 35 to 45 minutes or until the custard is set and the top is lightly brown. Remove from the oven and let cool. Refrigerate before serving. Again, you can drizzle the top with melted white chocolate or thin powdered sugar icing.