Almond and Pear Galette

With a abundance of pears I went looking for a recipe that would use things I already had in the house. This one was a real find. We loved it.
I didn't include the Dulce de Leche which I think from hunting online is a bit like caramelised condensed milk. It might be a nice addition when I make it again.
I think that lots of different fruits could be used...maybe even feijoas when they are in season again.



Almond Pear Galette with Dulce de Leche
Pastry - your favourite recipe or this one or this one.  

Crust:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp butter, cold, cut into 1/2" cubes
3 tbsp icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp cold water

Cream:
1 large egg white
3 tbsp powdered sugar
4 tbsp finely ground almonds
4 tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp almond extract

Filling:
3 firm, ripe pears such as Bosc or Bartlett, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp ground star anise
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt 

1/4 cup sugar (I used coconut sugar, but granulated or cane sugar would work as well) 
4 tsp butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup dulce de leche

To make the pastry, combine the flour, butter, and icing sugar in a food processor and pulse until crumbly.  In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks with the lemon juice and water.  Add to the flour mixture, with the motor running.  Dough should be soft.  Gather into a disc, wrap in plastic.
Pastry should be chilled in fridge for at least one hour. 

For the cream:  whisk together egg white and powdered sugar in a bowl until frothy, about a minute.  Stir in almonds, butter, almond extract.  Whisk and refrigerate. 

For the filling:  toss pears with lemon juice, zest, spices and salt. 

Preheat oven to 375*F.  Roll pastry out on a lightly floured counter.  You are aiming for about 12 inches diameter.  Line a bakesheet with parchment paper.  Fold your pastry in half and gently lift onto the bakesheet.  Lay it out flat.  Spread the cream evening, leaving a 1-inch border.  Arrange pear slices in concentric circles over the cream.  Sprinkle with sugar and sprinkle bits of butter on top of pears.  Fold edges of pastry over pears.  Bake for about 30-35 minutes until golden and pears tender.  Dollop the dulce de leche on tart and put it back in oven for another 5 minutes, just so it's melted.  Remove from oven and if you like, take your pastry brush and gently brush the dulce so it evenly covers the surface of tart.  Let it stand for 5 minutes, then place on cooling rack to cool completely.  Serve at room temp with a little whipped cream or ice cream.  Serves 6-8. 

Chocolate and Pear Pudding

This was one of the daily recipes I get emailed from Mindfood magazine. I have not made any yet but since this was a Maggie Beer recipe I thought I'd give it a try.

The example in the recipe was in a deep round
dish. I made it in a rectangular dish that was more shallow.

It cooked for just over an hour and was well cooked - possibly a bit too much around the edge.

The result was a very rich and very nice dessert. The contrast of the pear was nice with the richness of the chocolate.

Chocolate and Pear Pudding

Serves 8

5 small pears (total weight 440 g)

375ml verjuice 1⁄4 cup

55g castor sugar

300g dark chocolate 70% cocoa

250g unsalted butter

4 free range eggs

2 free range egg yolks

200g brown sugar

60g plain flour, sifted

40g dutch cocoa sifted (unsweetened)

Pre-heat a fan forced oven to 160˚C.

Cut peeled pears into wedges (sixths). Cut out the core.

Over medium heat place the pear into a medium size pot. Add Verjuice and sugar and simmer 10 minutes, or until the pears are cooked.

Remove from heat and remove the pears from the syrup. Cool, then cut each piece in half.

Melt chocolate and butter over a low heat in a bowl on top of a small pot (the chocolate mustn’t come into contact with steam). Blend the chocolate and butter and cool.

Beat eggs, egg yolks and sugar in an electric mixer until thick and pale.

Stir in the chocolate mixture, then fold in flour and cocoa.

Place the pears in a large greased baking dish (20 cm x 9.5 cm). Pour in the chocolate mixture and place on a baking tray. Bake for approx. 1 hour to 1½ hours until pudding comes away from the sides and the centre should be a little gooey.

Serve warm dusted with cocoa and crème fraiche.

Pear Liqueur and Pear Garden Cocktail

A few too many pears got me searching for a recipe to use them, I came across this one for a Pear Liqueur. Simple, probably lethal and very very yummy.

The finished liqueur has a subtle pear smell and is quite brown and cloudy but used in the cocktail below is amazing.
I had intended to make just one round but one was just not enough. I didn't met any resistance from the others drinking them with me.

The lemon juice cut through the sweetness of the other ingredients.
I used supermarket cranberry drink which was probably a bit too sweet. I'd use unsweetened pure juice next time.

The sugar syrup was made in a hurry but putting half a cup of sugar and half a cup of water in the microwave for 3 minutes, then stirring while hot. I left it to cool and it was perfect.

Because we don't use 'oz' measurements I just treated each as a part or measure using the measure that came with our cocktail shaker.


Pear Liqueur

1.5 lbs. pears ripe (.68kg)
750ml vodka (cheap is good)

Peel, seed, and stem the pears. Cut them into 1″ pieces and place in a large glass container (at least a half gallon – I doubled the recipe). Pour the vodka into the glass container. Seal tightly and shake the jar. Place the jar in a cool, dark location for one week. Strain the pear out and then let sit for another 2 weeks.

Pear Garden Cocktail

2 oz (part/measure) pear liqueur (which you just happily made)
1 oz (part/measure) cranberry juice
1/2 oz (part/measure) Crème de Cassis (black currant liqueur)
1 oz (part/measure) lemon juice
1 oz (part/measure) simple syrup (1:1 sugar:water – dissolve sugar, bring to boil for a minute, let cool)
pear, for garnish (optional)

Place martini glass in freezer. Pour everything except the pear garnish into a shaker, fill with ice, and shake until cold. Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with pear slice and other fruity things.

Macadamia and Pear Upside Down Cake - Recipe

On what is officially the third day of spring we uncovered the outdoor table and moved it out on to the deck. We are lucky to have a big outdoor wooden deck area that is up in the canopy of the large established tress in our back yard. We had a much loved family member to share our lunch with us. It was great even at the end of winter to be able to eat (some parts of the meal) homemade and from our garden...avocados, rocket and a healthy wholemeal loaf that had been rising in the oven while we were out for the morning.

I also gave a new recipe a try from this week's Ooooby box and judging by the way is disappeared it was a hit!

Isabella and I had spent quite some time this morning trying to crack open the macadamia nuts (for this recipe) with a meat tenderiser. It gave the ideal opportunity to introduce the word 'frustrating' into her three year old vocabulary.

This recipe was pretty easy. It was incredibly light - a bit lie a steamed pudding and the outside was kind of caramelised and gooey. It was great with plain unsweetened yoghurt. This will be a make again recipe - the visual impact was great (with not too much effort) and it was really yummy!

Macadamia and Pear Upside Down Cake – serves 12

50 g butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 pears, peeled, cored and sliced into eighths

150 g butter

¾ cup(150g) brown sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla essence

3 free range eggs

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup finely chopped macadamia nuts

Line a 22 cm spring form cake pan with baking paper.

Melt the first measure of butter and sugar together and pour over the baking paper.

Lay the pears in a circular pattern.

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs one at a time. Fold in sifted flour and baking power then stir in the nuts.

Spoon the cakemixture over the pears.

Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for 35- 40 minutes or until cake tester comesout clean.

Leave to rest for 5 minutes before turning out onto a serving plate.

Serve with whipped cream or yoghurt.