Cashew Crusted Blackberry & Lime Tart

Here it is…the day before Valentine’s Day! Oh and it also happens to be Friday the 13th, which is a bit disconcerting. Anyhoo… Have you baked up a little something special for your sweetie? I know some folks were suspicious that my Valentine would be getting those irresistible Salted Peanut Butter & Nutella Sandwich Cookies that I blogged about a few days ago. Now those were right up my alley! Alas, as I mentioned, the husband does not have any trouble resisting Peanut Butter treats whatsoever. (Yay! More for me…) No. Definitely. NOT up his alley. Nor likely anywhere on his map! So I’d have been a pretty horrible wifey to offer those up to him. Luckily I’m not that clueless and know exactly what he likes. Believe you me I have earned some serious Valentine’s Day points from him by making this Cashew Crusted Blackberry & Lime Tart. For the husband, and perhaps some other of you fruit dessert loving folks out there, this is the dessert that is irresistible.

So what we’ve got here is a crispy graham cracker/cashew crust holding a creamy, sweet and tart lime curd filling, all crowned with the husband’s favourite fruit, fresh blackberries. Yup…this might possibly be the confection of his dreams!

And the big win for me, besides my darlin’s everlasting devotion (just imagine the fluttering cupids), is that it was really pretty easy to make. Truth be told, I made this over a couple of days, lime curd first, crust the next and saved the final assembly until I was ready to surprize him.

Though I will say that the crust and filling are both pretty quick and low impact to make, so this tart could easily be made on the day you need it. Like maybe tomorrow?

So if you’ve got a significant other like mine who will shun the chocolate dessert to make a beeline straight for the fruit filled offering, take note of this Valentine’s Day indulgence. You know what they say…the way to a man’s heart and all that!

• Servings: One 9 inch Tart
• Difficulty: easy
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recipe adapted from: My Cup is Full and Food Network (for the Cashew/Graham Crust)

Ingredients:

For the Cashewed Graham Cracker Crust:

• 2 cups cashews, finely ground
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (digestive biscuits are a good substitute for grahams)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup melted and cooled butter

For the Lime Curd Filling:

•  1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temp
• 2 egg yolks, at room temp
• 1/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons (5 oz.) fresh lime juice

For the Topping:

12 ounces fresh blackberries

Fresh whipped cream for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9-inch tart pan and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together the cashews, graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup sugar, and the melted butter. Press crumb mixture into the bottom and sides of the tart pan.

Bake the crust for 8 -10 minutes until it is set. Set aside to cool on wire rack.

Next, make the lime curd (just a note, you could make up the lime curd a day or two beforehand and store in the fridge covered with plastic wrap).

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, incorporating each fully before adding the next.

Pour in the lime juice and continue to mix until combined (you may need to scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl). This is the point at which I have to tell you not to freak out, because I might have, just a bit. Once you add the lime juice, your lovely creamy sugar/butter/egg mixture will go all curdled. Just take a deep breath and say “All will be fine.” As you heat and whisk the mixture in the next step, the lovely creamy mixture will once again appear.

Pour the curd mixture into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring continually with a whisk until the mix is smooth.

Increase the heat a touch and keep whisking until the mixture has thickened and has reached a temperature of 170 degrees Fahrenheit

Remove the curd from the heat and transfer to a heat-resistant bowl (such as glass), and cover with plastic wrap pressed to the top of the curd. Allow it to come to room temperature and then chill it in the refrigerator before putting in the crust.

Once the crust is cooled and your curd is chilled, scoop the curd into the center of the crust, spreading evenly to the edges with the back of a spoon.

Finally, arrange your berries over the top of the tart.

Enjoy!

Cashew Crusted Blackberry & Lime Curd Tart brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

 

Rustic Caprese Galette

Ahhhhh…..Caprese Salad. How I do love you! Summertime eating at it’s best. Insalata Caprese, or Salad of Capri, which is a small island off Italy’s southern coast, is a simple salad made with mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and basil, sprinkled with salt and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It is often served as an antipasto (starter) in Italy. I like it as a starter, I like it as a side dish and as the main dish, truth be told.  Indeed, I like all of its various incarnations. I’ve eaten it as a sandwich on some nice crusty bread, I’ve gobbled it up as a pizza and I’ve even scarfed it down on top of a grilled chicken breast. Always delicious! So when I found myself with a bumper crop of cherry tomatoes and a batch of fresh basil pesto, straight from my little deck garden, I knew just what I wanted to do. I had already served up quite a lot of the traditional Caprese Salad this summer and wanted to put a different little spin on the dish. That is when I decided to go with a Rustic Caprese Galette.

I used my favourite pie dough for the galette crust. Luckily for me, I already had a batch of that dough ready to go. The recipe I give you below makes enough for two pie crusts, so I always freeze one so that I’ve got one ready at a moment’s notice. Instead of fresh basil leaves, I used my fresh basil pesto as the sauce. Now be careful, you don’t want to apply the pesto as thickly as you would a sauce. A little goes a long way. I covered that with fresh halved cherry tomatoes and then added a layer of fresh mozzarella cheese. The real stuff ok…don’t use that pre-shredded plastic that the supermarkets claim is mozzarella. Not wanting to leave out the classic Caprese Salad ingredients of salt  and olive oil, I painted a flavoured Italian Olive Oil over the folded edges of the tart and sprinkled it with Maldon Smoky Sea Salt flakes. Right before serving I drizzled a little balsamic vinegar reduction over the top.

The results were delicious! Flaky, buttery crust, fresh fragrant veggies, creamy dreamy mozzarella and tangy balsamic bliss. Summertime perfection!

 

• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

For the galette crust:

• 2 1/2 cups (360 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (227 grams) very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (2 sticks)
• 6 tablespoons vodka (chilled)
• 2 Tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

• 3-4 Tablespoons Basil Pesto (recipe below/ or store bought if you are in a rush)
• 18 -20 cherry tomatoes (halved)
• 12 -14 slices fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
• Olive Oil to brush over folded edges of galette
• Maldon Smoked Sea Salt for sprinkling

Directions:

This recipe will make enough dough for two pie crusts. The second one can be kept in the fridge for up to two days or frozen for 3 months. If you’re making dough, you may as well make a second one while you’re at it and then you’ll be ahead of the game when preparing your next delicious creation.

Mix 6 tablespoons of vodka and 2 tablespoons of water. Put in fridge or freezer (don’t forget it) to chill.

Add 1 1/2 cups flour, salt to a food processor. Pulse 2 to 3 times until combined.

Scatter butter cubes over flour and process until a dough or paste begins to form, about 15 seconds. (There should be no uncoated flour).

Scrape bowl, redistribute the flour-butter mixture then add remaining 1 cup of flour. Pulse 4 to 5 times until flour is evenly distributed. (Dough should look broken up and a little crumbly).

Transfer to a medium bowl then sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water/vodka over mixture. Using a rubber spatula, press the dough into itself. The crumbs should begin to form larger clusters. If you pinch some of the dough and it holds together, it’s ready. If the dough falls apart, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of extra water/vodka and continue to press until dough comes together.

Remove dough from bowl and place in a mound on a clean surface. Work the dough just enough to form a ball. Cut ball in half then form each half into discs. Wrap each disc with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months (just thaw it overnight in the fridge before using).

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Transfer one disc (save the other for some other delicious creation) of the pastry dough from the refrigerator to a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to a 12 inch circle. Transfer the dough to the prepared, parchment lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle a bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over the dough where the filling will be placed. This not only adds a lot of flavour, but will also keep the crust from getting soggy – so I’m told. Spread the basil pesto evenly over the pastry, leaving a 2-inch border all around.  Remember you don’t need a whole lot with pesto, a little goes a long way. Cover the pesto with the halved cherry tomatoes and then place the mozzarella slices over the top. Gently fold over the pastry border, overlapping the edges as much as possible and gently pressing the folds together.

Brush the folded edges of the crust with an infused or flavoured olive oil. I used italian spice blend olive oil. Or simply use a beaten egg yolk. Sprinkle the smoked flaky sea salt  over the crust. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the crust has become a lovely golden brown.

While your galette is in the oven, place the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 3-5 minutes until the vinegar becomes syrupy. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Remove galette from oven and drizzle with the balsamic reduction just prior to serving.

Enjoy!

Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 cup of pine nuts, toasted
• 3/4 – 1 cup olive oil
• 1 cup Parmesan Reggiano, freshly grated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

Arrange pine nuts on baking tray. Toast in 375º F oven until golden brown. Keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly. Remove from tray and set aside to cool.

Place all ingredients except olive oil in food processor. Whizz all ingredients together while slowly drizzling in olive oil, stopping to scrape sides down occasionally, until thick and creamy consistency is reached.

Adjust spices to taste.

Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Will keep for 1 -2 weeks.

Rustic Caprese Galette brought to you by: Runcible Eats (http://www.leaandjay.com )

Polenta Tart with Asiago Spinach, Grilled Corn, Balsamic Mushrooms and Cherry Tomatoes

So this Meatless Monday thing is actually pretty fun! The husband and I have been trying our best to eat no meat on Mondays for quite some time now and have really loved all of the dishes I’ve prepared for it. With all of the fresh veggies and wonderful spices, we have not missed the meat at all.

Now, don’t get me wrong…we do not think we could go completely vegetarian and we know we couldn’t be vegans, but we do feel that our diet in the past has relied too heavily on meat. We’d like to get back to a time when eating meat was more of a special occasion thing and not an everyday meat lovers smorgasbord thing. Some meatless days would be healthier for us as well as our planet. This Polenta Tart with Asiago Spinach, Grilled Corn, Balsamic Mushrooms and Cherry Tomatoes was one of my most recent Meatless Monday dishes and it was so delicious, just chock full of fresh veggies, right out of the garden. I’m sure it will be in permanent meal rotation around here from now on.

As I’m certain you’ve noticed from the recipe title, this tart has a polenta crust. I love polenta and was shocked to find out that even though my husband is a cornbread fanatic, he had never tried polenta. Polenta is basically coarse ground yellow cornmeal which is cooked up like porridge or for those from the southern states, grits. It can be served as a creamy porridge, or once cooked can be cut into slices and baked, fried or grilled. Or as you can see here, formed into a tart crust. Very versatile indeed.

It was once considered to be peasant food, but now has been known to make an appearance on the menus of truly fancy-dancy dining establishments. It is mostly associated with Northern Italy. When corn was introduced in Europe in the 16th Century, that northeast part of Italy was found to have the perfect growing conditions for corn crops. Corn became the staple dish of the farm families there, much like the potato did in Ireland and Germany. Somehow polenta got a reputation for being difficult to prepare. There were rumours that involved one standing in front of a hot stove, constantly stirring that pot of polenta for  2 -3 hours and what you would get after all that was a clumpy burned mess. I don’t know how this came about. Polenta is not difficult to prepare. It takes about 40 – 45 minutes and while there is a lot of whisking as you initially sprinkle the cornmeal over the boiling liquid, after that an occasional stir will suffice. It makes for a rustic and hearty tart shell, which is able to hold up to the mountains of fresh veggies I heaped on top. Comfort food that’s also good for you. Now that’s a winner in my book!

• Servings: 4
• Difficulty: easy
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recipe inspired by: Yeah…Immaeatthat

Ingredients:

For the Polenta Crust:

• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 3/4 cup water
• 1 cup coarse ground cornmeal (or polenta)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup Asiago cheese, grated
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

For the Topping:

• 2 Tablespoons butter, divided
• 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 5 ounces fresh spinach
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
• pinch of nutmeg, freshly ground
• salt and pepper to taste
• 12-14 cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup spicy grilled corn* (recipe noted below- or you can use fresh corn from the cob or if you must -frozen or canned corn)
• 1/4 cup Asiago cheese, grated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter a 9″ tart pan or you could use a 9″ springform pan as well. Set aside.

In a heavy bottom saucepan, ( I used my Le Creuset which I just adore! ) combine the broth and water and bring them to a boil. Stream in polenta while whisking the entire time. Add salt and continue to whisk, taking care to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan to prevent polenta from sticking or burning. You should notice that it is beginning to thicken after about 15 minutes, but continue to cook for about 15 more minutes (total of 30 minutes cooking time).

A few minutes before you have finished cooking the polenta, stir in 1/4 cup of the Asiago cheese. Whisk until melted and finally add 1 tablespoon of the butter. Whisk until the butter has melted and is incorporated. Remove from heat and allow polenta to cool for 5-10 minutes.

Scrape polenta into prepared pan. Press it into the bottom and up the sides of the pan to form the crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

While crust is baking, prepare the topping. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saute pan and add the mushrooms. Season with a pinch or so of salt and cook until softened, about 8 – 10 minutes. Add 1 Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and cook until liquid is mostly gone for another 5 minutes or so. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add remaining tablespoon of butter to pan and melt over medium high heat. Add onion and saute for 6 – 7 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minutes more. Place the spinach in the pan and stir until wilted. Add pinch of nutmeg and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Gently stir mixture until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat.

Cover polenta crust with spinach mixture. Scatter balsamic mushrooms, grilled corn and halved cherry tomatoes over the spinach. Sprinkle Asiago cheese over the top. Return tart to the oven and bake for 15 – 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove sides of pan. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Spicy Grilled Corn

Ingredients:

• 3-4 ears of fresh corn in husk
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 3/4 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• ¼ tsp chili powder

Directions:

Combine olive oil, lime juice, garlic, salt, brown sugar and chili powder in small bowl and whisk together.
Preheat grill.
Peel back the corn husks, discarding all but a couple inner layers. Remove corn silk, then baste with dressing, and recover corn with remaining husk.
Grill on med-high for 20-25 minutes, turning 3-4 times during cooking time.
Remove the corn from grill and allow to cool a few minutes. Once it has cooled enough to handle, cut off stem end, place the flat cut end on bottom of large bowl, and use a corn zipper to strip the kernels from the cob. Or if you don’t have a zipper, run a small sharp knife down the length of the cob, slicing off kernels.

Garden Fresh Asiago Polenta Tart brought to you by: Runcible Eats (http://www.leaandjay.com )

Butterscotch Banana Tarte Tatin for my Valentine

So here it is, Valentine’s Day yet again. And this one had quite an exciting meteorological lead up to it around here. Folks have been pretty much hysterical all week over the HUGE snow storm that was slated to commence clobbering us on Wednesday evening. Didn’t I say Winter wasn’t done with us yet…dang that old Punxsutawney varmint! (Just kidding…Sorry Phil, I won’t shoot the messenger!) Usually when there is that much hype about a storm here, nothing actually happens. But this time we did end up with about 10 inches in the wee hours of Thursday and sleety rain/snow throughout the entire day. Luckily I was prepared to make a gorgeous treat for my Valentine and had all of my ingredients ready right here in my cozy warm home and did not need to go out to brave the grocery stores, which if they were even open, I’m sure were in a quite a state to say the least! This year I will be sticking to my usual template when making Valentine’s Day Treats for my sweetie. I think the first one I ever blogged about was Lemon Curd Bread Pudding with a Blackberry Glaze,

the next year I was on to Luscious Lemon Squares,

then I whipped up a Poached Pear Tart with Lemony Cream.

Anyone spot a pattern here? I just noticed that they all had lemon in them, but that isn’t really what is key here. Give up? They are all fruit desserts. No rich, decadent, indulgent, oh so common on Valentine’s Day chocolate in sight! Now I’ve told you that I think the husband’s preference for fruit desserts over chocolate ones is a bit inconceivable for me, though I must say, I don’t necessarily want chocolate…You guys know me by now right? What do I want? CUPCAKES! (just thought I’d make that word really stand out in case my sweetie just happens to be reading this post…hint, hint!) But since I’m such a lovely and thoughtful wife, I did not make my Valentine cupcakes. I made him this fantastic Butterscotch Banana Tarte Tatin!

I was lucky enough to receive Deb Perelman’s Smitten Kitchen Cookbook for Christmas and immediately knew this Tarte Tatin would be the Valentine’s Day dish this year. If you have not got a copy of the book, what in the world are you waiting for?!! It is chock full of delicious recipes, similar to the ones found on her blog, as well as her stunning photos. And let me tell you, this Butterscotch Banana Tarte Tatin did not disappoint. It was very quick and easy to make. You really only dirty one pan, the cast iron skillet that you cook it in. You start by cooking the bananas in a boozy butterscotch sauce on the stove top.

This is where you will lose any element of surprize because the tantalizing aroma of the bubbling banana medley will bring every single person who is in the house into the kitchen to investigate. Next step is to add the buttery puff pastry topper and then pop the whole thing into the oven for about 25 minutes until it is bubbly and golden.

Are you drooling yet?

Next you carefully flip it over onto a plate and get ready for folks to swoon!

I think it looked truly impressive. Not to mention how scrumptious it tasted…and I am not even that big of a fruity dessert fan.

I did indeed choose wisely for my Valentine. He was over the moon! Hope everyone has a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Butterscotch Banana Tarte Tatin

Recipe from: Smitten Kitchen Cookbook  by Deb Perelman or you can see recipe online at EatDrink.CA

yield: 6 – 8 servings

Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour, for work surface
• 1 sheet frozen puff-pastry dough, thawed in the refrigerator for 1 day
• 3 Tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup (95 grams) packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes, such as Maldon
• 5 Large ripe bananas peeled, halved lengthwise
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon bourbon or Scotch (optional – are you kidding me?! I chose Knob Creek Bourbon)
• Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Directions:

For this recipe, you’ll need a 9″ skillet heavy enough so you fear dropping it on your toes. Preheat your oven to 400° F. Roll out your puff pastry on a floured surface to a 9″ circle, and trim if necessary. Transfer the pastry to the fridge until needed.

Melt the butter in the 9″ skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the sugar and salt. Cook, swirling the skillet occasionally, until the mixture turns medium amber, about 3 minutes.

Arrange the bananas in the skillet, overlapping them slightly. Cook, without stirring, for 3 minutes. Drizzle the vanilla and the alcohol of you choice over the bananas and cook them until most of the liquor has evaporated and liquid has thickened, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the bananas from heat.

Place the pastry round on top of the bananas and transfer it to the oven. Bake until the pastry is golden brown and puffed, about 25 minutes. Remove the tarte from the oven, and carefully invert the tarte onto a serving plate. Don’t even think about serving this without vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

Brownie Tart with Irish Whiskey Meringue

Alright, alright, alright! Only seven more days to go until St. Patrick’s Day! I can’t believe I’ve managed to get this far with my blogging extravaganza! I’m almost there! And today I’ve got a great St. Patrick’s Day recipe for you…Brownie Tarts with Irish Whiskey Meringue. Nom, nom, nom! I mean who wouldn’t love a moist, decadently rich, chocolate brownie topped with a veritable mountain of sweet, Irish Whiskey meringue?! Now you can make this dish as one large 9″ dreamy tart, or if you have the smaller, individual sized tart pans, it will make eight of those deliciously cute little devils.

I’m a sucker for the personal sized dishes. Perhaps it is because small things are so cute…you know like puppies and kittens. It also might have to do with the fact that once you get your hands on an individual sized portion, which is often bigger than you likely would have helped yourself to if left to your own devices, you don’t have to share it with anyone else. Oooo…did I  just admit to not wanting to share? Everyone knows, “sharing is caring”. Except for when it comes to desserts and then I think it is more like “every man for himself”.

Anywhoo…. I went with the individual tart pans. The original recipe said that it only would make four individual tarts, but I definitely got eight out of it…and they were not skimpy tarts, but filled the whole of each little pan…Dunno…I’m just going to go with “more is better” so lucky me!

And although this dessert looks quite impressively difficult, it is very easy to make. Everyone can pull off some brownies, so no sweat there . Now meringues have been known to be a bit finicky and temperamental, but this one was very cooperative, rising to celestial heights and perhaps more importantly, once there, staying put and not sinking back down to the gloomy depths the second you turned your back on it. And I should mention, there is Irish Whiskey in this here meringue. I don’t want to leave that essential fact out. Perhaps it is the whiskey that makes that meringue so resilient. It definitely makes it particularly tasty! Come on…make up a batch today…you know you want to!

Brownie Tart with Irish Whiskey Meringue

recipe from: A Communal Table

yield: Eight 3 1/4″ individual tarts

Ingredients:

For the Brownie Tarts:

• 200 grams dark chocolate, chopped (about 7 oz.)
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2/3 cup superfine sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp. good cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. Irish whiskey (I used Jameson’s)

For the Irish Whiskey Meringue:

• 4 egg whites, room temperature
• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 tsp. white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Irish Whiskey

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325° F.

Grease a 9 inch removable bottom tart pan or eight 3 1/4 inch individual tart pans and set aside. Add the butter and the chocolate to a medium saucepan and heat over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Add the sugars, eggs, flour, cocoa and whiskey to the saucepan and mix until thoroughly combined. Pour batter into prepared tart pan(s). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the brownies are set. Remove from oven and cool.

For the meringue, add the egg whites to a mixer bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar while beating until the egg whites are thick and glossy. Add the cornstarch, vinegar and whiskey and beat until combined. Spoon the meringue over the cooled brownie. To toast, either use a kitchen torch or pre heat the broiler to high and broil for 1 minute until the meringue is golden brown. Slice and serve!

Enjoy!

Poached Pear Tart with Lemony Cream

The second I saw this Poached Pear Tart I knew that I had found the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert for the husband. I’ve already confided in you his “strange” preference for all fruit filled desserts over all decadent chocolatey offerings. I know….bizarro! But at least I’ve accepted and internalized this knowledge and can apply it when I’m trying to come up with a sweet indulgence made just for him.

A Pear Tart would not be my Valentine’s choice, but I’m not baking for me. My husband knows what to get me (cupcakes!), so I will leave it to him. But back to this tart,  I could tell from his perspective this dessert has it going on! I mean, he absolutely LOVES tarts, anyone who knows him will tell you that about him without hesitation… (snicker, snicker) and this one has wine poached pears baked in lovely lemony cream! Seems like it was a recipe crafted just with him in mind. A perfect Valentine’s treat!

I must admit though, I really don’t like working with pears at all! It’s not that I don’t like them, I really do. It’s just that I can never tell if they are ripe or not. So I spend an eternity in the store, gently touching every pear on display, like some sort of pear whisperer, hoping that the mysterious fruit will take pity on me and push the ripe ones of themselves into my basket. Yet that has never happened, so I finally give up and just pick a few to cart home with me. Of course they are not the perfect ripe ones, so I try to accelerate the process by placing them in paper bags with other ripening fruit. Yeah. They remain rock hard until I turn my back for like 5 minutes and I come back to find them ripened into a pile of mush! Don’t know if that happens to you or not, but it sure happens to me. Though this time, I really wanted this dessert to work out for Valentine’s Day, so I held vigil by these little devils until they were ready! Yup. It’s true I love my husband that much. I braved the pears and actually won on this time!

There are quite a few steps involved in making this tart, but the good news is that you can break them up over several days if necessary. I poached the pears and made the pastry on one day and then completed the recipe on the following day. Making this tart was definitely worth the time investment because it not only looks beautiful but tastes amazing. Refreshingly light.

I served each slice with a scoop of simple vanilla ice cream drizzled with a scrumptious syrup reduction of the pear poaching liquid. And don’t forget the champagne of course! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Poached Pear Tart with Lemony Cream

recipe from: Elra

yield: one 11″ tart

Ingredients:

For the pastry dough:

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1  1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup confectioner sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

For the poached pears:

• 3 ripe but still firm Bosch pears
• 750 ml (1 bottle) good quality white wine of your preference
• 1/2 cup sugar
• vanilla bean, scraped

For the lemony cream:

• 1/4 cup (30 g) sugar
• 4 tablespoons (50 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• zest of 1 lemon
• lemon juice from 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup (50 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt, optional

Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Directions:

Peel, and cut the pear in half, using melon baller core and discard the seeds. Place them in a large pot,  pour in white wine, add sugar and vanilla bean. Place the pot over medium low heat, simmer until pears are slightly tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. Turn off the heat, cool completely in the liquid.

In the mean time, begin to make the pastry. Put all ingredients, except lightly beaten egg onto food processor. Pulse use 1 to 2 second pulse until most of the butter is the size of a peas. Add lightly beaten egg and pulse again until the dough just starting to form a small clump.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead lightly a couple of times. Gather the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least  30 minutes.

Generously grease an 11-inch removable bottom tart pan with butter.

Roll out the pastry to fit the size of tart pan, transfer into the pan, and trim off the excess. Prick all over with fork, cover with plastic wrap, and place it back in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, or up to a day in advance.

On baking day, preheat oven to 375° F. Remove the pastry from refrigerator. Place a piece of parchment paper, or aluminum foil directly on top. Add dried beans, or pie chain, directly on top of paper of foil, then bake in the middle rack for 15 minutes. Remove pastry from oven, remove the paper, or foil including the beans. Quickly and lightly brush the pastry with egg white, this process will prevent the pastry from becoming soggy. Return pastry to the oven, continue to bake for another 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Turn the oven up to 400° F. Set the racks in the lower third and upper third of the oven.

Remove pears from their poaching liquid, blot dry with paper towel, and set them aside. Place reserved poaching liquid in small heavy bottomed saucepan and set over medium to medium high heat to reduce. This takes about 20 minutes or so and you will end up with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of syrup.

Using a hand whisk, large wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until pale and creamy, add egg, and vanilla extract, beat  to blend. Mix in lemon zest and lemon juice. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt, add it to the cream mixture, and mix just enough to incorporate the ingredients. Using small spatula, spread the batter into the bottom and sides of the cooled tart shell. Arrange poached pears over the filling. Bake the tart on the lowest rack for 25 to 30 minutes. Take the tart out from the oven, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, taking care not to get sugar on the pastry, which could cause it to burn. Return the tart to the oven, and place it on the top rack. Continue to bake for another 15 minutes, or until pears starts to caramelized, and the crust is dark browned. Remove the tart from the oven, and transfer it onto cooling rack to cool completely. Using a kitchen torch, lightly char the pears, to get that slightly burnt and rustic look on your tart. Right before serving, dust the tart with confectioner’s sugar. Serve with fresh whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or simply drizzled with the reduced pear poaching syrup.

Enjoy!