Sunday, February 6, 2011

Pear & Pecan Tarte Alsacienne

Recipe: Trina*
Photos: Greg and Trina


Yes, a little burnt; I corrected for that in the recipe by not pre-baking the crust before filling it. This is a scrumptious, not overly sweet winter dessert -- the kind of dessert you can get away with having the next morning with coffee. Recipe follows photos.

















Pecan Crust:
1/4 cup pecans, lightly toasted
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
cold water

Whiz everything in food processor. Add cold water until dough forms into balls. Press into tart shell.

Filling:

2 pounds pears, cut in half, cored and thinly sliced

Custard:
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon brandy

Process almonds and sugar into fine powder. Add remaining ingredients; process.

Fan pear slices and place in tart shell. Pour custard over fruit. Bake 10 mins at 500 and then 20 mins at 425. Unmold tart as soon as possible and cool on pastry rack.

*Sources: Crust is from this recipe (which overall was terrible - inedibly sweet and the grapes roll all over the place; the crust was wonderful, though.) Filling recipe is from a French cookbook that I'd cite if I knew the name... all I have is a soiled, old photocopy of the recipe. I'm not plagiarizing on purpose! That makes it OK, doesn't it?

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