A little sweet treat for you and your love xx
Poached Pear Frangipane Tarts
Recipe from Little and Friday Cookbook
Makes 6 tarts
1 x sweet, shortcrust pastry (recipe below)
1 cup frangipane (recipe below)
6 poached pears (recipe below)
1 tbsp manuka honey, to glaze.
On a lightly floured bench, roll out pastry to 3mm thick and line 6 small tart tins. Rest pastry cases in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (or freezer for 15). Place on a baking tray, and preheat oven to 180˚C (350˚F).
Spoon three tablespoons of frangipane into each tart case. Using a sharp paring knife, carefully slice the bottom off each pear so they sit flat. Keeping the tops intact, cut vertical slices from the stalk of each pear, making each slice a few millimetres apart. Gently spread the pear slices apart to form a circular fan from the stalk. Place a pear fan on top of each tart, twisting slightly so slices extend to edges. Bake for 30 minutes or until frangipane is cooked. Make a honey glaze by melting manuka honey with a dash of boiling water. Using a pastry brush, paint glaze over pears while hot. Leave tarts to cool slighty before removing from tins. Serve with a small scoop of icecream or natural yoghurt.
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
Makes one 28cm tart or 6 smaller tarts
2 3/4 cups flour
1 cup icing sugar
pinch of salt
250g butter, well chilled and roughly chopped
1 egg
vanilla extract
Place flour and icing sugar in food processor. With motor running, drop butter in piece by piece until mixture resembles large, coarse crumbs. Add egg and vanilla and pulse until pastry forms a ball. Wrap in glad wrap and keep in fridge or freezer until ready to use.
Poached Pears
6 pears, peeled and cored
2 star anise
2 cinnamon quills
1 tbsp manuka honey
1 cup sugar
Place enough water in a large saucepan, to cover pears (then remove pears from water) and bring to a boil. Add spices, honey and sugar. Stir until sugar has dissolved, then add pears. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until pears have softened and become transparent but retain their shape. Remove from saucepan, reserving liquid, and allow to cool. Pears can be refrigerated in an airtight container with their liquid for up to 5 days.
A few notes: To prevent the pears discolouring while cooking, make a cartouche. Before cooking the pears cut a circle of baking paper to fit the circumference of your saucepan. Cut a hole in centre of the circle to allow some of the steam to escape. Lay the paper on the surface of water while the pears are cooking, pressing down every so often to make sure the steam is released.
Frangipane
Makes 1 cup
65g unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup ground almonds
1/2 tbsp flour
Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stop the beater and scrape the sides of the bowl frequently to ensure ingredients are being thoroughly combined. Add egg and beat well. Using a wooden spoon, stir in ground almonds and flour to form a paste. Frangipane will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Gorgeous! Sigh-worthy gorgeous…
Looks divine… beautiful baked goods and photography, Christina! Can you get Manuka honey in Canada, or did your parents bring you some? Just curious… am going to miss the honey (among many other things) when we leave…
We miss it SO much! We found some beautiful Californian honey in San Francisco though – not manuka (wild sage actually) but very good nonetheless and that’s what I used here. Can’t wait to get our hands on rich, local manuka again though!
The pear all fanned out like that reminds me of a twirling ballerina. What a stunning dessert for Valentine’s Day – the pictures are so moody and romantic.
I can taste this dessert…..
As beautiful as it could be. I love the dark background of your photos – reminds me of your old neighbor “What Katie Ate” – you two are among my favorite food photographers!
What Katie Ate! That’s what has inspired these recent shoots, as well as Call-Me-Cupcake, another favorite. I’m really enjying working in a dark room with studio lights. I can only assume that’s what both those girls do for their wonderful moody shoots..
Call-me-cupcake looks gorgeous too! What kind of lights did you get, if you don’t mind me asking? I bought something on Amazon.com about a year ago, but they are super weak…
I just bought a 105W 1000K bulb to add to my 2 45W bulbs. It’s from Cowboy Studio. I find the 105 more than enough light on its own!