Pear Upside -Down Cake


Foodie Friday

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Fresh Pear Sherbet




This year my family gave me a new ice cream machine for Christmas. I have been longing for an ice cream machine that doesn't need ice or doesn't require you to pre-freeze the canister. I am now the happy and proud owner of a Cuisinart machine that meets both of these criteria. Just plug it in and away you go! Since we happened to have several very ripe Harry and David pears sitting around, pear sherbet was a natural choice to test out the machine. This simple recipe has just 5 ingredients and takes 10 minutes to prepare. The resulting sherbet is smooth and creamy, just like eating a juicy, ripe pear. I have made this recipe many times before, some with the Poire William and some without. Either way, this sherbet is a delicious and refreshing treat any time of year.

Fresh Pear Sherbet
Julia Child and Company

5or 6 ripe pears, enough to make about 2 cups of puree
2 Lemons
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg white
3-4 tablespoons white pear liqueur, Eau-de-vie de Poire Willams (optional)



Zest the rind of the lemons and then jucie them into a bowl (you should have 4 tablespoons of juice). Peel and core pears. Cut the pears into chunks and drop them into the bowl of lemon juice. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of sugar and stir to mix. In a blender or food processor, puree the pears, adding the remaining sugar. Puree until all of the sugar is dissolved. Add the egg white and pure one moment more.  Pour mixture into ice cream maker adding Poir William, if using, at last minute to avoid turning pears dark.  Process according to machine directions. Pack in an air tight container and store in freezer for a few hours to cure. (Sherbet doesn't develop its full flavor until it has been cured.)

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Thank You to Kris at Bake in Paris  for the blog award.

 If you haven't dropped in at Kris's blog you are missing out.  Kris is not only a talented baker and cook, but an outstanding photographer and blogger as well.

Trifle with Roasted Apples, Pears and Caramel Sauce
adapted from BonAppetit  November 2003- I made several changes to the original recipe and my version appears below.

3 ½ doz. Soft Ladyfingers
Cinnamon Pastry Cream
Caramel Sauce
Roasted Fruit
1/3 cup dry sherry
2 cup chilled whipping cream
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cinnamon Pastry Cream
6 egg yolks
2 cups milk
¾ cup sugar
1/2 cup cake flour
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbs. unsalted butter

Whisk egg yolks and ½ cup milk in large bowl. Add sugar, flour vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk until sugar dissolves. Bring remaining 1 ½ cups of milk to simmer in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk milk into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Cook until custard thickens and boils, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add butter, stir until melted. Transfer to bowl, cover with plastic wrap, press directly onto surface of custard. Chill until cold.
Caramel Sauce
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1 cup cream
2 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt

Blend the sugar and water in a 1 ½ qt sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and swirl the pan by the handle to make sure all of the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is perfectly clear. Return pan to moderately high heat; cover and boil for several minutes. After a minute or so peek at syrup, when the bubbles are thick uncover the pan.
Continue boiling, swirling the pan by the handle until the syrup begins to color. When it is a light caramel color remove from the heat and continue swirling and the color will darken more. To stop cooking place bottom of the pan in cool water.
Slowly add the cream, which will congeal the caramel. Return pan to low heat and simmer, stirring until the caramel dissolves. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and salt. Use warm or cool. Refrigerated in a covered jar, the sauce will keep for weeks.


Roasted fruit
3 large Fuji Apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch cubes (about 4 cups)
3 Bosc pears, peeled, cored, cut into ½ inch cubes, (about 3 cups)
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In bowl toss fruit, lemon juice and butter. Spread on a rimmed cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet in the oven, roast until fruit is soft and golden, turning with metal spatula every 15 minutes, for about 1 hour. Cool fruit sheet.

 
Assembly: Pour sherry in a small bowl. Dip top side of lady finger in sherry. Line the bottom of a 2-3 quart glass trifle dish with a single layer of lady fingers, sherry side up. Line the edge with one row of ladyfingers, sherry side in. Spoon half of pastry cream over ladyfingers, smooth top. Cover with half of the fruit. Drizzle ½ cup of caramel sauce over fruit. Line edge of dish with a second row of ladyfingers, sherry side in. Cover fruit with a single layer of ladyfingers. Spoon remaining pastry cream over ladyfingers followed by remaining fruit drizzled with ½ cup of caramel sauce. Line the side of the dish with a third layer of ladyfingers, sherry side in. Cover and chill at least 6 hours or over night.

In a bowl, whip cream, sugar and vanilla until it hold cream holds a peak. Spoon or pipe cream over trifle, drizzle with caramel sauce. Serve with remaining caramel sauce.

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 Lauren of  I'll Eat You-  selected Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tart. This is a beautiful tart full of rich autumn colors. The deep rosy pears were just right on top of  the light colored pastry cream, sprinkled with caramelized pistachio nuts and finished with a drizzle of a the deep red reduction of the poaching liquid. The sweet buttery crust was the perfect crunch under the smooth pastry cream and tender pears. Dorie says the reduction sauce is option, but I disagree- it is a must for this tart. On the other hand, although I loved the caramelized pistachio nuts as a snack, I didn't think they did too much for the tart, other than being a garnish.


 Rosy Pear Tart
Baking, From my home to yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:

For the Pastry Cream:
2/3 c shelled pistachios
7 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/3 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
3 Tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup sour cream, if you do not strain nuts from pastry cream

For the Poached Pears:
3 cups fruity red wine (shiraz, syrah, zinfandel)
zest of one orange, cut into long strips
zest on one lemon, cut into long strips
3/4 cup sugar
5 ripe but firm medium pears
small lemon wedge

For the Caramelized pistachios:
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 c shelled pistachios

For the Sauce (optional)
poaching syrup from pears
2 tablespoons honey

1 9 inch tart shell made with Sweet Tart Dough (or any pastry) fully baked
 
To Make the Pastry Cream:
Put the pistachios and 3 tablespoons of sugar in a food processor and process until the nuts are finely ground, about one minute. Turn the nuts into a medium heavy bottom saucepan, add the milk, and bring to a boil.  While the milk is heating, whisk together the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar,
the yolks and the cornstarch in a bowl. When well blended, whisk in the vanilla and almond extracts. Whisking constantly, drizzle in one quarter of the hot milk to temper, or warm the yolks so they don't cook. Add the remaining milk in a steady stream. Pour mixture back into the saucepan, put the pan on medium heat, and, whisking energetically, bring to a boil. Boil, whisking, for 1 minute, then remove the pan from the heat.
You can scrape the pastry cream into a clean bowl, in which case it won't be smooth, or if you want smooth cream, press the cream through a strainer, leaving the nuts behind; I usually leave the nuts in. Piece by piece, stir the butter into the pastry cream.  Scrape the cream into a container, press apiece of plastic wrap directly against the cream's surface, cover and refrigerate for at lest 4 hours, up to 4 days.

To Poach the Pears:
Put the wine, citrus zests and sugar into a large narrow pot, one that will hold the pears snugly, and bring to a boil.
Peel the pears and immediately rub them with lemon to keep them from darkening. Reduce the heat under the pot so that the wine simmers gently and lower the pears into the pot. Cut a circle of parchment or wax paper to fit inside the pot and press the paper against the tops of the pears, Partially cover the pot and simmer, turning the pears if needed so they are evenly colored by the poaching liquid, for about 30 minutes or until tender. test the pears by poking them with the point of a paring knife. Remove pan from the heat.  Transfer the pears to a heat proof bowl and pour over the poaching syrup; cool to room temperature. These can be covered and kept in the refrigerator of up to
3 days.

To Caramelize the Pistachios:
Place a piece of parchment or a silicone mat on the counter near your stove. Put the sugar and water in a small non stick skillet or saucepan over medium high heat and stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil and cook without stirring until the sugar has reached an amber colored caramel. Add the nuts and stir without p until the sugar becomes a dark caramel color and
coats the nuts. Turn the nuts onto the parchment or baking mat and spread as best you can.  When the nuts are cool, chop them coarsely. Keep in a cool dry place till needed.

To Make the Optional Sauce
30 minutes before assembling the tart, remove pears from the poaching syrup. Put the syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the honey and boil until the syrup is thick enough to coat a metal spoon. Pour into a container and chill until needed.

To Assemble the Tart
Cut the pears lengthwise in half, scoop out the cores and trim the stems and center veins as needed. Place pears cut side down on a triple thickness of paper towels. Cover with another triple thickness of paper towels and pat dry. Leave them between the paper towels until the excess liquid is absorbed, changing paper towels if needed. When the pears are dry, cut each pear lengthwise into 4 to 6 slices.  If you did not strain the nuts from the pastry cream, mix in 1/4 cup of sour cream to thin it a little. Spread the pastry cream in the baked tart shell (you may have some left over). Top the pastry cream with the pear slices, arranging in slightly overlapping concentric circles. Scatter the caramelized pistachios over the tart and serve with wine sauce, if desired. The tart can be covered and
kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours.

Pear Pepper Pie
From the Best of Sunset

Pastry crust for double pie (recipe follows)
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup quick-cooking tapioca
¼ teaspoon white pepper
about 8 firm ripe pears such as Bosc, d’Anjou or Comice
1 egg lightly beaten
¼ cup whipping cream

In a bowl mix sugar, tapioca and pepper. In to another large bowl, peel, core, and thinly slice pears to make 8 cups. Combine with sugar mixture, set aside.

Roll half pastry 1/8 inch thick and fit into a 9 inch pie pan; trim excess from edges. Pour in pear mixture. Roll remaining pastry into 1/8 inch thick round; place over pears. Fold top pastry under bottom pastry. Flute edges. Slash top in a few places to allow steam to escape; brush with beaten egg. Bake at 400 degree oven until bubbly, about 1 hour.

When done remove pie from oven. Cut a 3 inch hole in center of top crust; lift out the pastry and slowly pour in cream, lifting pears slightly with a knife so cream seeps in. Replace pastry and let pie cool in pan on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Pastry:
adapted from Julia Child- Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vol.1

Makes enough for one 9-inch double-crust pie

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces)  all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
5 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening, cut into small bits
1/2 cup cold water +/-

1. Process flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined. Add butter and shortening, and pulse until pieces of butter are about the size of peas, 3 to 5 quick pulses. Redsitribute mixture evenly in processor.

2. Sprinkle water over flour and butter mixture. Pulse mixture a couple of times until mixture starts to from a ball.  Dump contents of food process on a lightly flour board and press the dough firmly into a ball. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Uncooked pastry dough will keep for 3 to 4 days under refrigeration, or it may be frozen for several weeks.
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