3.3 Poached Pear Tart: Putting the Pieces Together

美女廚房: Baking Edition

So in HK there’s this cooking show called ‘Beautiful Cooking’ based on pseudo models who essentially have to ‘cook’ for a guest panel of male judges while wearing skimpy outfits.

Screw that, we got our own ”美女廚房” right here except we can actually produce something quite impressive. So here is the final step. I usually do this about two hours before serving it to ensure that the crust is still crisp and not soggy- but I know how hard that is to time. And gainm you can find the full recipe here:

 

Remove pears from poaching liquid. Pour poaching liquid into medium saucepan; boil until syrup is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 10 minutes. Chill wine syrup until cold.

Cut pears lengthwise in half. Scoop out cores and center veins; cut off stems. Place pears, cut side down, on triple-thick layer of paper towels. Cover with triple-thick layer of paper towels. Pat pears dry, changing paper towels as needed to absorb excess liquid. Cut each pear half lengthwise into 4 to 6 slices.

Spread pastry cream in crust. Arrange pear slices decoratively atop pastry cream, covering completely. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Cover loosely and chill.)

Scatter caramelized pistachios over tart. Cut tart into wedges and serve with wine syrup.

 

A Visual Guide to Prepping Pears

I cut out the caramelized pistachios (I did almonds for Stacy’s) because I thought then there were too many complex and overwhelming flavours and textures from just a slice. Rather, I substituted this by making a vanilla bean cream. My cousin took me to an American bulk buy grocery store in Sheung Wan called ‘Gateway’ and lo! I found five vanilla beans in a test tube for $88! What a steal! Actually perhaps not but I will pretend like it’s cheap and whip them out occasionally when the dessert deserves a little more class. Kidding.

Gutting a Vanilla Bean

 

Agnes and I divvied the pear tarts: the largest one went to my coworkers while we gobbled one up as a tester, one for my cousin, the other for a friend and Agnes took the other two.

When tea time came at our office, at the sight of the tart one coworker goes, “who are you???”
I am Sara Lee and Betty Crocker reborn as a Chinese. Kidding.

And what did our guest judge give us out of ten? 9.5/10: 0.5 off because the crust was a little too thick.

2.3 Poached Pear Tart: Crust

 

A lot of crusts: we doubled the amount of dough to make all these: 8", 4"

This post is going to be short and sweet: the formation of the tart crust.

My sous chef, Agnes, unfortunately was swamped with work that day so I just prepped them.
Essentially the texture and taste of this crust is much like shortbread: buttery, crisp and quite dense to hold the weight of the almond pastry cream and pears. I have not perfected it yet: it always seems to be either too thick or too thin to the point of my observations of guests using their molars to break it or thin enough to crack down the middle.

But beyond this, people don’t seem to mind too much beyond trying to force the fork into the last and final layer since the crust really is delicious. And again, you can find the full recipe here:

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 9 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large egg yolk

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk and blend in using on/off turns until moist clumps form. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Freeze crust 15 minutes.

Bake crust until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

This time around I accidentally overcooked the crust so it was a little too dark but it doesn’t matter in the end since the pears will cover it.

How to Shape the Crust

To shape the crust, my method of doing it is dumping a big scoop in the center of the tart pan and then using my first to pound down the  bottom first and eventually working my way up along the sides. To get a even thickness on the side, use your index fingers to pinch it securely around the rim.

The First Attempt at the Pear Tart for Stacy

1.3 Poached Pear Tart: Pears and Cream

Philina's Poached Pear Tart which includes a photo I took on Victoria Island, BC

 

Every baker, I believe, at one point in their gastronomic explorations has an “ah ha!” moment where they realize “hey I can actually add a little flour, sugar and eggs and create something pretty awesome” Being one who usually played it safe, my repertoire up until March consisted mostly of chocolate, cream and cake. Everything I made was essentially brown in color: triple chocolate cake, fudgey brownies, and tiramisu. It wasn’t until when I asked Stacy what kind of confectionery delight she wanted to celebrate with to mark her birthday, she requested a fruit tart.

There’s a reason why I avoided fruit for all this time.
Fruit requires good timing: you have to ensure that the fruit is ripe but not soft. Fruit requires buying in advance therefore knowing exactly what you want to make a week in advance. You can’t just do it on a whim, you need to be organized and calculated. In addition to this, oxygen and vulnerable bare flesh aren’t a good mix when it comes to organics. The lemon becomes your best friend: a wedge of its acidity to counter slices of apple from browning and pears from spotting. You pray that there aren’t any blemishes; replacements aren’t easy to find. It’s a race against time. And that’s why I avoided fruit. But with this new challenge and with my pride at stake, I couldn’t say no. Whenever I think of fruit tarts, my head conjures up pictures of over-glazed mixed fruits frozen in gelatin on soggy crusts.
I am unsure why I decided to tackle such a difficult project such as this Poached Pear Tart that I found on epicurious.com. Perhaps it’s because of the ratings or because I really like pears but anyway, that final hour where I was putting it together, I realized, I had overcome a huge hurdle as a baker.

I could do fruits.
That opened a lot of doors for me particularly concerning aesthetics: there is only so much you can do with chocolate particularly concerning colour palette. But with fruit? Floral motifs, sun flares radiating outward bursting forth in juicy gloriousness… not to mention the colours: mango yellow, quiet plum purple, ruby red and cheeky blush pink. I decided to do break up this entire recipe into three parts: one for every day, for every step of the process. Three days because I didn’t want to feel rushed or pressured to finish it on time. I must say that the lengthy process is worth it though: the tart is unique in its way of poaching in wine which reflects a taste of red cherry, pear, almond and butter. It’s a tart worth making if you want to impress guests or a date (just not a first date lest it goes awry and you realize you’ve spent more time baking than the hours spent together. =P). It’s really simple actually so I’ve broken down the steps lest it looks overwhelming. I’ve simplified the recipe- caramelized nuts aren’t really necessary, but I do make a vanilla bean cream to go with it. I don’t usually like the taste of wine but really this recipe will turn anyone into an alcoholic (kidding). I’ve included a visual step-by-step here photographed by yours truly for those visual learners out there. 😛 You can get the original recipe from epicurious here

Day One:

Pastry cream

• 2/3 cup shelled raw unsalted natural pistachios
• 7 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 1/3 cups whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 5 tablespoons whipping cream

Poached pears

• 3 cups fruity red wine (such as Zinfandel)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Peel from 1 orange, removed with vegetable peeler in strips
• Peel from 1 lemon, removed with vegetable peeler in strips
• 5 medium-size firm but ripe pears (such as Anjou), peeled, rubbed with cut side of lemon wedge

For pastry cream:
Finely grind pistachios and 3 tablespoons sugar in processor. Transfer nut mixture to heavy medium saucepan; add milk and bring to boil. Whisk remaining 4 tablespoons sugar, yolks, and cornstarch in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into yolk mixture. Return mixture to same pan; whisk constantly over medium-high heat until mixture boils and thickens, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Whisk butter into pastry cream, 1 piece at a time. Transfer pastry cream to bowl; press plastic wrap directly onto surface. Cover and chill at least 4 hours. Stir in cream. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.)

Agnes, my sous chef, teaches us how to make custard. Tip: I substituted pistachio for almond. It says stir for a minute so ONLY stir for a minute because it thickens quickly.

For poached pears:
Bring wine, sugar, orange peel, and lemon peel to boil in heavy large saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add pears; bring to simmer. Cut parchment paper round to fit pan; press paper atop pears. Partially cover pan; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently until pears are tender, turning occasionally, about 30 minutes. Transfer pears and poaching liquid to medium bowl. Cool to room temperature. (Pears can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) 

** Buy the pears a few days in advance. If they aren’t ripe (yellow) the night prior to poaching, place the pears in a paper bag, roll it up and put it in a warm, dark place. This will speed up the process of riping. Yes, you get to play a pseudo god and no, that does not mean you can conquer the world.

Merlot & Bartlett Pears: I let them sit for three days to get fully red, occasionally turning them to achieve an even hue.

Poached Pears