Caramelized Pear Tart Recipes

CARAMELIZED PEAR TART

Steps:

• In a sauté pan on medium, melt unsalted butter; stir in 2 Tablespoons of the sugar.
• Simmer, stirring occasionally, until butter and sugar begin to turn golden brown and caramelize.
• Add pear slices and cook slowly over low heat to tenderize and caramelize, stirring gently occasionally. Watch carefully to prevent burning.
• Arrange caramelized pears in short crust pie shell.
• Mix together eggs with the remaining sugar, cream, ground almonds and pear brandy, if using.
• Pour mixture over pears.
• Preheat oven to 410 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degree Celsius) .
• Bake for about 25 minutes.
• Rest for three to five minutes before serving.
• Serve with rich custard or vanilla ice cream.

CARMELIZED UPSIDE-DOWN PEAR TART

Steps:

• Peel and halve pears, the core (preferably with a melon-ball cutter). Heat butter in a 9- to 10-inch well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then stir in sugar (sugar will not be dissolved). Arrange pears, cut sides up, in skillet with wide parts at rim of skillet. Sprinkle pears with cinnamon and cook, undisturbed, until sugar turns a deep golden caramel. (This can take as little as 10 minutes or as much as 25, depending on pears, skillets, and stove.) Cool pears completely in skillet.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and trim to a 9 1/2- to 10 1/2-inch round. Arrange pastry over caramelized pears, tucking edge around pears inside rim of skillet. Bake tart until pastry is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cook on rack 5 minutes.
• Invert a rimmed serving plate (slightly larger than skillet) over skillet and, using pot holders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert tart onto plate. Serve tart warm or at room temperature.

CARAMELIZED UPSIDE-DOWN PEAR TART

Steps:

• Peel, halve, and core pears.
• In a 9- to 10-inch ovenproof non-stick skillet or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet heat butter over moderate heat until foam subsides and stir in sugar (sugar will not be dissolved). Arrange pears, cut sides up, in skillet, with side parts at rim of skillet. Sprinkle pears with cinnamon and cook without stirring until sugar mixture forms a deep golden caramel. (This can take as little as 10 minutes or as much as 25, depending on skillet and stove.) Cool pears completely in skillet.
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough into an 11-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick) and arrange over caramelized pears. Tuck edge around pears. Bake tart in middle of oven until pastry is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Have ready a rimmed serving plate slightly larger than skillet. As soon as tart has finished baking, invert plate over skillet and, wearing oven mitts and keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together, invert tart onto plate. (This is a bit scary, but it works!)
• Serve tart at room temperature or chilled with whipped cream or ice cream.

CARAMELIZED PEAR TART

Steps:

• Lightly grease a 9-inch tart pan with removeable sides.
• In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt and pulse briefly to mix.
• Add the shortening and cut it into the flour mixture using quick on/off pulses until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg and the vanilla and process just until moist clumps form, pulsing the processor on and off.
• Gather the dough into a ball and using your fingertips, press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the preapred tart pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Halve each pear lengthwise and scoop out the core with a melon baller or spoon. Peel and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. There should be about 5 cups.
• Melt the butter over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet and stir in the brown sugar. When the sugar has dissolved and is bubbly, add the pears to the skillet sprinkling them with lemon juice and let the pears cook in the sugar syrup, stirring gently so as not to break up the slices. The pears will, at first, release quite a bit of juice - allow this to simmer until the liquid reduces to a thick syrup and the pears have begun to caramelize. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425°F Gently spoon the pears into the prepared tart shell, spreading them out evenly. Sprnikle with the sliced almonds. Bake for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and continue baking for 25-30 minutes, until the almonds are toasted and pear filling is bubbly.
• Let cool before removing the sides of the tart pan to serve.