Ingredients
1 almond cream:
1/4 cup unsalted butter,, softened
1/3 cup super fine sugar
2 large egg yolks
1/4 tsp amaretto or almond extract
1 cup ground almonds, (see note)
1 tbsp allpurpose flour
1 caramel sauce:
1/2 cup brown sugar,, packed
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tarts:
1 lb puff pastry
2 large ripe pears, peeled, cored,, thinly, sliced
1 egg yolk
4 sprigs mint
1 confectioners sugar,, for serving
Directions
To make the almond cream: In the bowl of an electric mixer or with a
wooden spoon, beat the butter and sugar together until light and
fluffy. Add the egg yolks, beat in well, and add the Amaretto. Stir
in the ground almonds and flour until evenly mixed. The mixture
should be the consistency of a thick paste.
To make the caramel sauce: In a small sauce pan, combine the brown
sugar, butter and cream. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil
vigorously for 2 minutes, remove from the heat. Cover and keep warm
at the back of the stove.
To make the tarts: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly
floured surface, roll out the pastry to a 1/8inch thickness and,
using a plate or cardboard circle as a template, use a very sharp
knife to cut four 7inch circles. Spread a circle of almond cream in
the center of each, leaving a 1inch border. Fan the sliced pears out
from the center of each tart, completely covering the almond cream
but still leaving the border. Beat the egg yolk lightly with a fork
and brush the border of the pastry with it (try not to let any yolk
dribble down onto the cut edges of the pastry, otherwise it will not
rise as high). Bake the tarts for about 20 minutes, until the edges
are golden and the pastry is baked through. Remove from the oven and
allow to cool for 5 minutes Place a sprig of mint in the center of
each tart and sprinkle it with a little confectioners sugar. Serve
warm, drizzled with the warm caramel sauce.
Yield: 4 servings
Note: to make ground almonds, freeze whole or sliced blanched
almonds, then process them in a blender in short bursts, scraping
down the sides as necessary, until they are evenly ground. Do not
over process or allow them to get warm, otherwise they will turn into
nut butter.
Posted to MC-Recipe Digest V1 #1
Recipe by: TOO HOT TAMALES SHOW #TH6224
From: Meg Antczak
Date: Wed, 4 Dec 1996 08:11:39 -0500
Servings: 4 servings
Pear Tarts With Caramel Sauce Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Candy; Dessert; Pear; Sauce
The History of Recipes
We are able to trace the history of `recipes` back into the distant past, in fact as far back into recorded history as the Egyptians, and potentially, even further back. In practice though, generally, these early cook books were just basic pictorial recipes for preparing meals.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to Professor Solomon Katz, are a few tablets in ancient Sumerian which show the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making people feel `exhilarated, wonderful and blissful`. As we move on, there are a couple of books from the fourteenth century - a recipe book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Don`t be fooled by the titles though, these two books are nothing to do with the indian food that is popular today, but rather accounts of the types of food served to the rich and powerful of that period. During the next few centuries, the powerful families of Wesstern Europe strove to serve the best banquets, and because of this the best chefs and their recipes were highly sought after. Notwithstanding that, it was during the 1800s that fine cookery and recipe collections rose to prominence. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to collating, trying out, and recording the recipes of their peers. By the advent of the 20th century, recipe publications were starting to become popular due to higher levels of literacy, people having increased spare time and being a little richer. The revolution that is television brought us celebrity TV chefs and the spin-off recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the invention of the internet, permitting us all to access massive numbers of recipes like those on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Pear Tarts With Caramel Sauce recipe.
