Pear And Frangipane Crostata Recipes

PEAR-AND-FRANGIPANE PASTRIES

Steps:

• Dough:In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over milk; stir until dissolved. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla seeds. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment, mix together 4 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and 1/2 stick butter on low speed until butter is incorporated and mixture resembles coarse meal, 3 to 4 minutes. Add yeast mixture; mix until dough just comes together. Add eggs and yolk; mix until just combined, 2 to 3 minutes (do not overmix).
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, making sure to include any loose bits left at bottom of bowl. Gently knead to form a smooth ball, about 30 seconds. Wrap tightly in plastic; refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together remaining 3 1/2 sticks butter and 2 tablespoons flour. Shape mixture into a 12-by-10-inch rectangle on a piece of plastic wrap. Refrigerate 15 minutes or up to 1 day. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to an 18-by-10-inch rectangle, a little over 1/4 inch thick, keeping the corners as square as possible. Remove any excess flour with a dry pastry brush. Remove butter mixture from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature until it is the same consistency as the dough. With a short side facing you, place butter mixture over two-thirds of the dough. Fold the unbuttered third over as you would a business letter, followed by the remaining third. This seals in the butter.
• Roll out dough again to an 18-by-10-inch rectangle, then fold into thirds as described above; refrigerate 1 hour. This completes the first of three turns. Repeat rolling and folding process two more times, refrigerating at least 1 hour between turns. To help you remember how many turns have been completed, mark the dough after each one: make one mark for the first turn, two for the second, and three for the third.
• Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to overnight. Dough can also be frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic, up to 2 weeks (thaw in refrigerator overnight before using).
• Poached Pears:Combine wine, lemon juice and zest, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla seeds, and 2 cups water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook 5 minutes. Add pears, reduce to a simmer, and cover with a parchment round to keep fruit submerged; cook, occasionally turning pears by gently rotating the stems with your fingertips, until pears are tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer pears to a bowl. Return poaching liquid to a boil and continue boiling until syrupy and reduced by half, 10 to 12 minutes. Pour syrup over pears and refrigerate, covered, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.
• Frangipane:In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a mini food processor, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, almonds, rum, almond extract, and flour; beat until smooth.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove pears from poaching liquid and pat dry with paper towels. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 20-by-12-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out 16 rounds and divide between two parchment-lined baking sheets. Fill each pear half with about 2 teaspoons frangipane and place cut-side down in centers of rounds. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush rounds with egg wash, carefully avoiding pears. Bake, rotating halfway through, until pastries are evenly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

PEAR AND CRANBERRY CROSTATA

Steps:

• For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and toss quickly with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the 1/4 cup ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and form into 2 disks. Wrap the disks with plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Roll each pastry disk into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer them to 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
• For the filling, peel, core, and quarter the pears. Cut each quarter into big chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Divide the pear chunks between the pastries, covering the dough and leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cranberries over the top of each tart.
• Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the two tarts. Gently fold the border of each tart over the pears, pleating it to make a circle.
• Bake the crostatas for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the pears are tender. Let the tarts cool for 5 minutes, then use 2 large spatulas to transfer them to wire racks.

PEAR AND FRANGIPANE CROSTATA

Steps:

• Make the dough: Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a stand mixer or in a bowl with a sturdy whisk, beat together sugar, salt, eggs and butter. Fold in flour and knead the dough into a ball. Squash the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 2 days before using. (Dough can also be frozen up to 2 months.) Roll out dough using a lightly floured rolling pin or press dough into a 10-inch French tart pan. Freeze or refrigerate tart shell while you make the filling. (It is not necessary to blind bake the tart shell.)
• Make the filling: Whisk together almonds, sugar, butter, egg yolks and whole egg until creamy, then whisk in rum and almond extract.
• Spread the frangipane batter evenly over the bottom of tart shell, and arrange pear slices over in a circular pattern. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake at 375 degrees, for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees. (If pastry is browning too quickly, loosely cover edges with foil.) Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden but not too dark and a toothpick pushed into the center of the tart comes out clean. If it doesn't, bake a few minutes longer.

PEAR AND FRANGIPANE CROSTATA WITH RASPBERRY VINEGAR GLAZE

Steps:

• Finely grind almond paste in processor. Add softened butter, flour, and egg; blend until smooth.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out puff pastry on floured surface to 13x11-inch rectangle. Fold 3/4 inch of edges over; press to adhere to make 11 1/2x9 1/2-inch rectangle. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Pierce surface evenly with fork, avoiding folded edges. Spread almond paste mixture evenly over crust within folded edges. Arrange pear slices atop filling, overlapping slightly. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake until crust is deep golden and pears are tender, about 38 minutes. Cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, stir vinegar and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil until syrup is reduced to 1/4 cup, about 6 minutes.
• Place tart on platter. Drizzle syrup over. Sprinkle lightly with peppercorns and serve warm.

PEAR AND HAZELNUT FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pulse hazelnuts with 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor until finely ground, then add flour and pulse to combine.
• Beat together butter and remaining 1/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer at moderately high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in extracts. Reduce speed to low and mix in nut mixture until just combined.
• Spread frangipane filling evenly in tart shell. Peel, halve, and core pears, then cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, holding slices together to keep pear shape intact. Arrange pears decoratively on filling, fanning slices slightly. Bake until pears are golden and frangipane is puffed and golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Brush pears (not filling) with preserves and cool tart completely in pan on rack, then remove side of pan.