Monday, October 21, 2013

Pear, almond and ginger tart

Burleigh Asiatic Pheasants platter, Mud Australia cup & saucer, Bellocq tea strainer 

This is a tart recipe that I make very often because it's really quick and simple. You only have to plan making this about an hour or two ahead of time so that you can thaw out pre-made puff pastry at room temperature. I used pears this time around since I had a surplus from the CSA, but you can also use apples or peaches depending on the season (since pears and peaches are softer and cook more quickly than apples, you should slice the apples and saute them in some butter beforehand. Thanks to Abby for pointing that out -- see comments!). I like my pastries to be rectangularly shaped because I think it looks more elegant; any leftover pastry from this recipe can refrozen.

Pear, almond and ginger tart
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Makes one 9"x 5" tart

1 sheet frozen puff-pastry (about 9" x 9"), thawed
1 pear, slice thinly, skin on (bosc or Bartlett works fine)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon marmalade
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons almond meal or ground almond
1 tablespoon white (castor) sugar
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
Eggwash

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 400F
  2. Melt the butter and marmalade in a saucepan. Turn off heat, then add vanilla extract, cinnamon and grated ginger. Let cool slightly. In a small bowl, mix together the almond meal and sugar. Set aside. 
  3. Cut your pastry into a rough 9" x 5" rectangle. Score all four edges of the pastry sheet (about 1/4" from the edge). 
  4. With a pastry brush, spread some of the butter and marmalade mixture on the puff pastry, making sure to stay within the boundaries of the scored lines, then top with the sugar and almond mixture. 
  5. Arrange the pears over the almond mixture, brush the tops of the pear liberally with the remaining butter and marmalade mixture, then finish with a scattering of the sliced almonds. Brush the edges with eggwash. 
  6. Bake at 400F for about 25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown, the almond slices are lightly toasted and the top of the pears are glistening and caramelized.
  7. Let cool slightly and dust with powdered sugar. 

6 comments:

  1. Yum! This sounds amazing. I love the self-aware twist on the traditional food blog!

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    1. Unfortunately, even cooking and eating doesn't remove my perpetual pessimism and sarcasm.

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  2. Amanda, you're a gem for putting the recipes down on a blog for us. I'm dying for some proper char siu so thank you, thank you, thank you. I need to make this as well. I can't be bothered making my own pastry dough from scratch so yippeeee for including this that looks fairly straightforward.

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    1. Yes, let me know if it turns out! I'd love to hear feedback (critical or otherwise!)

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  3. Hello! I was snowed in this weekend and your tart was an easy Saturday morning treat. I used apples instead of pears, and unfortunately, I put the tart on the top level of my oven so the pastry cooked a bit faster than the apples. I'm very much willing to try it again, though, but would 1) put the tart on a low shelf and 2) saute the apples a bit so they're softer. Also, did I miss the ginger? It's in the title, but not the recipe.

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    1. Hi Abby, thanks for the correction! That was very helpful. I think apples cook slower than pears and peaches. I've added the comments in the post. Thanks again!

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