Monday, June 28, 2010

Pear croustade with lemon pastry and almonds

Pear croustade with lemon pastry and almonds / Croustade de pêra com massa de limão siciliano e amêndoas

After I finished making these tarts – and took a bite out of one – I immediately thought that this would be a great recipe for those of you who are beginning to bake: no equipment required – just a bowl and a fork to make the pastry – and no specific baking pan either. And there’s another good aspect for my Brazilian readers: since pears are in season, this is a delicious and budget-friendly dessert. :)

Pear croustade with lemon pastry and almonds / Croustade de pêra com massa de limão siciliano e amêndoas

Pear croustade with lemon pastry and almonds
from here

Pastry:
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut crosswise into ¼-inch slices
¼ cup (or more) whipping cream

Filling:
450g (1 pound) firm but ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
450g (1 pound) firm but ripe Bosc pears, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
¼ teaspoon (generous) ground nutmeg
whipping cream (for brushing)
2 tablespoons sliced almonds

For pastry: whisk flour, sugar, lemon zest, and salt in medium bowl. Add butter; using fingertips, rub in butter until coarse meal forms. Drizzle ¼ cup cream over; toss with fork until moist clumps form, adding more cream by teaspoonfuls as needed if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour (can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before rolling out).

For filling: preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Mix all pears, sugar, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest, and nutmeg in large bowl to coat. Roll out pastry on sheet of floured parchment paper to 35cm (14in) round. Transfer crust on parchment paper to baking sheet. Mound pears in center of pastry, leaving 5cm (2in) plain border. Fold pastry border over pears, crimping slightly. Brush pastry edges with cream; sprinkle with sliced almonds.
Bake croustade until filling bubbles and almonds are lightly toasted, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. Serve croustade warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Serves 8 – I halved the recipe above and made two small croustades (used Packham pears)

11 comments:

  1. Muhteşem fotoğraflar. Tatları da eminim nefistir.

    Sevgiler
    Canan

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  2. what a wonderful croustade! What a nice combination of flavors...your crust looks awesome!

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  3. These look good.

    I just posted an apricot galette with almond crust today and here I see you have something similiar with pears :)

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  4. Just wonderful, wish I could take a bite - great pics as always

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  5. See? That's what we were talking about! I'm melting in 100-degree heat, with humidity, and you're going all Fallish on me with PEARS. Sigh. I'm meeeelting.

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  6. See? That's what we were talking about! I'm melting in 100-degree heat, with humidity, and you're going all Fallish on me with PEARS. Sigh. I'm meeeelting.

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  7. Wow, I actually have all of those ingredients (slightly different pears though, I think) sitting at home right now! If I'm feeling adventurous this evening, I'll give this recipe a shot. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. AnonymousJune 30, 2010

    Pears are in season here in Aus too - and these tarts look delightful!

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  9. Paula, thank you!

    Canan, thank you! (I got a little help from Google to understand your comment). :)

    Chef Dennis, thank you! The lemon adds such a nice touch to the pastry.

    Wendy, that galette sounds delicious! Yum!

    Jennifurla, thank you!

    Abby, I thought of you when I posted this recipe and our little chat on Twitter. :)

    Ross, thank you for stopping by! I hope you like the recipe!

    Alicia, yay! Thank you, darling!
    xx

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  10. Lovely fall dessert! Making me wish pears were in season here :).

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Thank you for your comment!