Amaretto, Almonds & Pear Trifle

Ingredients

Custard:
2½ cups cup milk
½ cup heavy cream
6 egg yolks
3T cornstarch
½ cup sugar
pinch of salt
1T vanilla paste or extract
1T butter, cold

Trifle:
2 cups pears, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes (about 2-3 pears). Use Bartlett, Anjou, or Comic
1 cup frozen raspberries, defrosted
1 cup sliced almonds toasted
½ cup toasted, shredded coconut
1pkg ladyfinger biscuits/cookie, (24 biscuits)
1 cup apricot jam
½ cup Amaretto liquor
1 cup heavy whipped cream
3T confectioner’s sugar
12 half pint jars with lids

1. Custard: In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat the milk, cream until hot, but not boiling.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, cornstarch, sugar, salt and vanilla. Whisk together until light in color and well blended. Add a cup of the hot milk to the egg mixture and whisk until combined. Now pour the warmed egg mixture into the hot milk, whisking constantly.

3. Return the pan to the stove and stir until mixture thickens, about 6-8 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and pass through a fine strainer. Stir in the butter and let cool completely. Place a piece of parchment or plastic wrap directly on top of the custard so that it doesn’t form a skin.

5. In a small bowl, combine the pears and raspberries. Mix until combined. Set aside.

6. In a small bowl, combine the toasted nuts and coconut. Mix until combined and set aside.

7. In a bowl with a whisk/beater, whip the heavy cream and sugar until soft peaks are formed. Set aside.

8. Place the ladyfinger biscuits on a baking sheet pan and spread each one with jam. Sprinkle the amaretto on top of the biscuits.

9. Break a biscuit in half and place the pieces, jam side up on the bottom of a jar, pushing them down.

10. Add a tablespoon of the custard, then a tablespoon of the pear-berry mixture.

11. Sprinkle some of the nut-coconut mixture on top.

12. Repeat with another layer of biscuit, custard, and fruit.

13. Top with the whipped cream. Decorate the top with nut-coconut mixture. Cover with lid. Repeat with the remaining jars.

14. Refrigerate 3 hours (or overnight is better) before serving.

15. To serve, tie a bow around each jar, place on dessert plate and serve.

Notes:

• Nuts: To roast nuts: preheat oven 350º F. Place nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Shake the pan and continue baking until nuts are toasted, about 3-5 minutes more. Let them cool. The roasted nuts can be store in an airtight container for weeks.

• Coconut: To toast coconut: preheat oven 350º F. Place coconut on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until coconut is slightly brown (not all the coconut will become brown).

TIPS & TRICKS

• Trick to test if custard is cooked enough: stir the custard with a wooden spoon. It should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, and when you draw a line with your finger, it holds. Custard can be made 2 days ahead.

• In the winter months, I like to use a combination of pears and frozen berries, or you can use just the frozen berries. In the summer months, I use fresh berries and stone fruits or a combination of both. This is just the best dessert for a crowd!

• Chopped walnuts, pecans, also work well too!

• You can use pound cake instead of ladyfinger biscuits.

• Change the jam to match your fruit. Strawberry and raspberry work as well.

• As you change the fruit and jams, you can change the liquor. Traditionally trifle is made with sherry, but you could also use Cointreau, cassis, or Bourbon.

• The trifle is traditionally served in a trifle bowl. I thought it would be fun and festive to have each guest have his or her own little dessert to resemble a present. You can also make the trifle in a large glass bowl. You might not need to break the biscuit into pieces if the container you are using is larger than the jars.

• The trifle cans be assemble 2 days ahead.

Pear Tarte Tatin

Ingredients

6-7 pears (Anjou, Bosc, or Comic) ripe, but firm
1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted
Flour for dusting
4T salted butter
¾ cup granulated sugar
Vanilla ice cream

1.    Pre-heat oven to 400° F.

2.    Peel, core, and then cut 6 of the pears into quarters. Set aside. It’s ok if they get brown (There’s an extra if one is bruised or mushy).

3.    On your kitchen counter, roll out the puff pastry into an 11x11 inch square.

4.    Cut off the corners to make an 11-inch circle (I use a dinner plate as a guide).

5.    Place pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

6.    Place a 10-inch frying pan over medium heat. Melt the butter, and then add the sugar. Stir until the mixture becomes a light caramel color, about 6-8 minutes. The mixture might become grainy and the butter may separate, but don’t worry. It will all come together in the end.

7.    Remove from heat and arrange the pears on their flat side into a tight circular design. Place 2-3 pear pieces into to the middle of the pan and place the remaining pears on top. Use fork to help stabilize the pears as you place them. Be careful: the caramel is hot!!!!

8.    Return the pan to the stove. Turn the heat up to medium-high and continue cooking until the caramel thickens and turns a deep golden amber color, about 8-10 minutes. (Spooning the caramel on top of the pears is a good way to check that the caramel is browning but not burning). Remove from the heat. Let cool at least 30 minutes, but the longer the better.

9.    Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and carefully place the dough in the pan, pressing the dough down on top of the pears.

10.    Fold the edges under the pears and press down.

11.    Place in 400˚ F oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Check after 20 minutes. If pastry is browning too quickly, loosely place a piece of aluminum foil on top.

12.    Remove the tart from oven. The tart will be very juicy. Using a paper towel, so you don’t burn your hand, gently press on the dough to hold the tart in the pan.

13.    Then, carefully pour the juice into a small saucepan (I place the saucepan in the sink so that gravity is working with me).

14.    Let the tart cool for 20 minutes before carefully flipping the tart onto a serving dish.

15.    Place the small saucepan back on the heat and boil down the juice until it forms a thick caramel syrup, about 2-3 minutes. Pour on top of the tart.

16.    Cut into slices and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

TIPS & TRICKS

•    Pears are picked unripened and shipped to stores. Pears take 3-5 days to ripen, so you need to plan ahead to make this dish. Test the pears by gently pressing near the stem. If it gives slightly, the pears are ripe, but still firm, which is perfect for this dish. 
•    Plan on an extra pear in case one of the pears is too soft or bruised inside to use. 
•    When making the caramel, do not multitask! ☺ It is very hot and you can burn yourself very badly (Speaking from experience!!).
•    Caramel is very temperamental. Weather, temperature, and humidity can affect it. If the caramel should separate or become grainy, do not worry. Once you add the pears and boil the caramel it will become smooth.
•    By allowing the pan and caramel to cool before placing the pastry on top, the pastry will be puffier after it is baked. 
•    The tart can be made up to step 8 early in the day and baked off later. 

Cranberry, Ginger & Pear Tart

Ingredients

Pastry:
1½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. granulated sugar
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup unsalted butter cut into ½ inch cubes and cold
8T iced, cold water

Filling:
3 large ripe pears, Anjou or Bartlett
2 cups fresh cranberries
½ cup walnuts, toasted* 
¼ cup granulated sugar
2T crystalized ginger cut into small dice
½ tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

Topping:
3T all-purpose flour
¼ cup walnuts, toasted* cut into small dice
¼ cup brown sugar
2T crystalized ginger cut into small diced
2T butter, softened

1.    Preheat oven to 400º F.

2.    Pastry:  In a food processor, add the flour, sugar and salt; pulse a few times until combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture has pea size bits of butter. Add the cold water and pulse just until the mixture just starts to come together.

3.    Dump the dough onto a piece of plastic film, using the plastic to gather the dough and flatten into a circle, and chill for at least an hour.

4.    On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into a circle slightly larger than your 10-inch tart pan, and then transfer the dough to the pan.

5.    Careful push the dough into the sides of the pan.  Trim off any excess dough. 

6.    Prick the bottom of the tart with a fork and line with parchment paper and pie weights.

7.    Bake at 400º F oven for 20 -25 minutes until till dough is set. Remove the tart from the oven, take out the pie weights and the parchment, and return the tart pan to the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes, until golden brown.

8.    Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

9.    Lower oven temperature to 350º F.

10.    Filling:  Peel the pears, core and slice into ¼ inch-thick slices and place into a medium-size bowl.

11.    In a food processor, coarsely chop the cranberries.  Add the walnuts. Pulse few times. Add mixture to the pears.

12.    Add the sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and salt to the cranberry-pear mixture.

12b. Tossing to combine. Spoon the filling into the crust.

13.    Topping: In a small bowl, mix the flour, walnuts, brown sugar, and ginger. Add the butter, combine with your fingers or fork, and sprinkle oven the filling.

14.    Place tart into the oven and bake at 350º F until the fruit is tender and the crust is brown, about 30-40 minutes. If crust starts to get too brown before the fruit inside is done, cover with foil.

15.    When tart is done, remove from oven and place onto a cooling rack.  Serve the tart warm or cool.

*    To roast nuts: preheat oven 350º F.  Place nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.  Shake the pan and continue baking until nuts are toasted, about 3-5 minutes more.  Let them cool. The roasted nuts can be store in an airtight container for weeks.

TIPS & TRICKS

•    Pastry can be made ahead of time and kept frozen for up to 3 months in an air tight container or zip lock bag. Defrost in the refrigerator when needed.
•    The tart is best enjoyed the day it is made, but you can:
•    Bake the crust the day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and store on the counter. Don’t refrigerate.
•    Topping can be made ahead.
•    Except for the pears, the filling ingredients can be prepared ahead. The day of serving, peel the pears and combine with the other filling ingredients. Then fill the crust and bake.