Recipe from Rachel Gaylord
Adapted by Margaux Laskey
- Total Time
- 2 hours, plus chilling and cooling
- Rating
- 4(109)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Gently spiced poached pears, vanilla pastry cream and flaky puff pastry are the stars of this sophisticated dessert that was created for the 2019 NYT Food Festival by Rachel Gaylord, the pastry chef at La Mercerie in New York. Ideally, this delicate tart should be eaten the day it’s made, so if you’re planning to serve this at a dinner party, make all of the components in advance and assemble the tart just before your guests arrive. Leftovers, if you have any, should be stored in the refrigerator and brought to room temperature before serving. The pastry will have lost some of its flakiness, but it will still be delicious. (This adaptation mercifully calls for store-bought puff pastry, but if you’re feeling ambitious, you can make your own.) —Margaux Laskey
Featured in: Finding the Deliciousness in New York City
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 1¼cups/250 grams granulated sugar
- 1½teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 to 6star anise pods
- 2semi-ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
- 1sheet store-bought puff pastry (about 8.5 ounces)
- 1egg, beaten
- 1cup/240 milliliters whole milk
- ½teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼cup/60 grams granulated sugar
- 3tablespoons/25 grams cornstarch
- 4egg yolks, at room temperature
- 2tablespoons/25 grams unsalted butter, softened
- ½cup pear purée or applesauce
- ¼cup/50 grams granulated sugar
- ½cup/50 grams toasted sliced almonds, for garnish (see Tip)
For the Pears
For the Crust
For the Pastry Cream
For the Glaze
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
1004 calories; 41 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 21 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 148 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 106 grams sugars; 13 grams protein; 203 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
1
Poach the pears: Combine 2 cups/480 milliliters water, sugar, vanilla extract and star anise pods in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Place the pears in the poaching liquid and cover with a lid. Keep just below a simmer and cook until the pears are tender, about 40 minutes depending on the ripeness of the pears. Remove the pears from the liquid to a plate and cool completely. Slice each pear half crosswise into ½-inch-thick slices. Set aside.
Step
2
While the pears poach and cool, make the pastry: Trim a sheet of puff pastry to one 4½-by-12 inch rectangle. From the remaining puff pastry, cut two 1-by-12-inch strips. Transfer rectangle and strips to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Step
3
Using a pastry brush, brush the beaten egg in a thin 1-inch strip along both long edges of the puff pastry, then place the strips of puff pastry on top. (You should have a rectangle of puff pastry with a puff pastry border down each of the long sides.) Use the back of a chef’s knife or the tines of a fork to gently press the strips of puff pastry into the rectangle. Prick the pastry all over with a fork, then refrigerate for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 325 degrees.
Step
4
Brush the puff pastry all over with egg wash, then line the center with parchment and fill with baking weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway through. Remove the parchment and baking weights. Bake until golden brown, about 3 more minutes. As soon as you pull it out of the oven, trim the edges with a knife so the layers line up, if necessary. If the center has puffed up, gently prick with a fork or toothpick to release air. Allow to cool completely.
Step
5
While the pastry bakes and cools, make the pastry cream: Combine the milk, vanilla extract, and half the sugar (using 2 tablespoons/30 grams) in a pot. Bring to a simmer over medium-low. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons/30 grams sugar and the cornstarch, then whisk in the yolks. Whisking the eggs and cornstarch continuously, carefully add ¼ cup of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks, and whisk well to combine. Now, whisking the hot milk mixture in the pot continuously, add the egg yolks and cornstarch mixture to the pot. Continue whisking until it thickens. (It happens fast!) Immediately remove from the heat and whisk in the softened butter until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Step
6
While pastry cream cools, make the glaze: Combine the pear purée, sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer until slightly reduced and glossy, about 3 minutes. Strain and chill.
Step
7
Transfer the puff pastry to a serving platter. Spread about 1½ cups pastry cream down the center of the pastry shell. Place the sliced pear halves over the pastry cream in alternating directions. Brush each pear with a thick layer of pear glaze. Garnish any areas between the pears with toasted almonds. Dust the whole tart with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
Tip
- Toast the almonds at 325 for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly toasted.
Ratings
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Cooking Notes
wine makes it better
I poached the pears in the exact same liquid except I subbed the water for a bottle of Merlot. I thought the dark red pears would look more festive, and also, booze, duh. It was so delicious
Gluton
I had the same problem, and ate it. Delicious.
Jaireeo
What do you do with all the leftover pastry cream?
Jennifer
I too boiled down the pear placing liquid and then used it as the glaze instead.
roundlake
I poached the pears in red wine with star anise and cinnamon stick, and boiled down the poaching liquid to create the glaze. On the pastry cream, I added some sliced ginger to the milk and the ginger scented pastry cream really complemented the red wine pears.
Laura
Wow, this was so good! I added a cinnamon stick to the poaching liquid because, why not? Yes, there's definitely leftover pastry cream, so .... I just made a second tart! I was a little intimated by the different components especially because I hadn't made pastry cream before, but it was easy. Love that you can prep everything individually and assemble just before serving.
Mark
The amount of corn starch seems wrong compared to the amount of milk for the pastry cream. In our kitchen, half the amount of corn-starch (1.5 tablespoons) for the 1 cup of milk works MUCH better. Also added 1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds to the poaching liquid. Strained the poaching liquid after the pears were done and boiled down to honey-like consistency to use as the glaze like others suggested. Keep the left-over glaze to eat on toast!
wine makes it better
I poached the pears in the exact same liquid except I subbed the water for a bottle of Merlot. I thought the dark red pears would look more festive, and also, booze, duh. It was so delicious
Jennifer
I too boiled down the pear placing liquid and then used it as the glaze instead.
Karen
Tried this last night. I had trouble with the pastry cream. When recipe said "until thick" I didn't know how thick it should be before you take it off the heat. Recipe said it would happen quickly. Well I guess i took it off too soon but I was afraid it was stàrting to curdle as it thickened. It never did thicken so I folded a bit of it into some whip cream. Tasty but sloppy. Maybe more precision in the recipe.
AL
I used four white cardamom pods and one allspice berry and it was delicious.
Maggie
I boiled down the anise spiced pear water into a syrup as thick and yummy as honey!
Maggie
I boiled down the anise spiced pear water to make a yummy syrup the consistency of honey—great on toast! Try it!
Jaireeo
What do you do with all the leftover pastry cream?
Gluton
I had the same problem, and ate it. Delicious.
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