Only this time I'm at my sisters hanging (more like having an absolute blast!!!!) with my nieces and their exchange student, that we all want to adopt into the family while my sister and her husband are on vacation.
There were all of these beautiful pears sitting on the counter when I got here, and while they were a little on the hard side and the wrong kind of pear for baking this kind of dessert, I am mostly pleased with the way that it turned out.
It's not a really sweet tart, but you can add more sugar if you want.
Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1 1/2 sticks cold butter cut into small pieces
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp. ice water
Filling:
1 1/3 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
2/3 cup Half and Half
2 tsp Butter
3 med Pears
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp. all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp light Brown Sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Egg White, slightly beaten
Topping:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
(Put a glass bowl and beaters in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly before whipping the cream)
Prepare the Pastry In a food processor, combine the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the candied ginger and salt and pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse until it is the size of small peas. Sprinkle on the ice water and pulse just until the pastry starts to come together. Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat it into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until firm.
Preheat oven to 425.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry to a 14-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Fold the pastry in half and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet.
Filling Over a double boiler (I just used a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water) melt the chocolate and whisk in the butter and half and half. Turn off the heat so that the chocolate can cool just a bit.
Peel, core and slice the pears to 1/4 in thick. Toss with the lemon juice. Sprinkle in the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon and toss to coat evenly.
Finish Spread the ganache on the pastry dough leaving about a 1 1/2 in border. (any extras are great for dipping strawberries in!!) Arrange the pears in any way you feel like it, but only on the ganache. Fold up the edge of the crust over the pears. Brush crust edge with the egg whites. (I sprinkled a little brown sugar on it too :)
Bake at 425˚ for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375˚f and bake for 30 more minutes.
Topping Whip the cream on high until it sets up. Slowly whip in the sugar.
Serve tart warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.
Bon Appetite!
