{TWD} Pear Foldover Torte, regular and gluten-free

A 6 inch mini torte with flaky pie crust

The Tuesdays With Dorie baking group continued on an autumn baking spree this week with Dorie Greenspan's Fold-Over Pear Torte, a sort of hybrid pie/pudding concoction, baked in a springform pan and packed with fruit - pears this time - and nuts.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- Cakelaw of Laws of the Kitchen selected this week's torte for us to bake. You can find the recipe on her site.

- Dorie's recipe calls for pears, walnuts, and chopped dried apricots. Although sometimes pears are a little bland in desserts, I decided to stick pretty closely to the original; my version switched out the apricots for dried cherries (plumped in boiling water first) because I'll use any pretext to bake with dried cherries.

- I made two 6 inch tortes. In addition to the regular pie-crust-encrusted torte, I also made a gluten-free version, with a base layer of nut tart crust (similar to the one that I made here) and then lots of fruit and custard. For the gluten-free torte I replaced the all purpose flour in the custard with a mixture of coconut flour and almond flour.

the gluten-free torte with a nut crust base (and no fold over)

- I forgot to add the baking powder to the custard, but luckily the tortes seemed none the worse for the omission. They still puffed a bit - from the eggs I guess.

- We love custard at our house, so I made extra filling to be certain that there was enough custard in each of the tortes. I was able to use all of the gluten-free filling in my very tall 6" springform pan. For the regular tart, the pan was much shallower and I couldn't fit all of the filling into the crust, so I baked the extra fruit and custard in some buttered baking dishes.

- Instead of Dorie's crust, for the regular torte I used the Cook's Illustrated pie crust (find the recipe here, and my previous post about it here) which is my very favorite crust for two reasons: it is impossibly easy to work with the dough, and I love the taste from the combination of shortening and butter. The pie crust complements any pie filling without stealing the starring role.

- The crust didn't brown very much as it baked in the oven so next time I might brush it with a milk or egg wash.

the leftover fruit and custard, baked in a buttered dish

the verdict:

My husband ate the regular torte and absolutely loved it. "This might be the best dessert. Ever." He savored his little torte over the course of a few days, accompanied by rum ice cream.

My daughter J.D.E. and I sampled the gluten-free torte. It had a luxurious amount of custard, and the nut crust played a nice supporting role. My daugher liked the dessert so much that she said she'd like the baked custard + fruit even without the crust (although she preferred the nut crust to the regular pie crust).

This torte has earned a permanent spot in the fall baking repertory!

{TWD} Rosy Pear & Almond Tart with Two Nut Crust

Happy National Pear Month!

In recent weeks I've been madly bookmarking pear recipes. I've gone so far as to bring pears home from the market, but then I've gotten busy, and forgotten what I was planning to do with them. Unlike apples which will hang out happily in the crisper for weeks on end, pears are like little time bombs. They sit on the counter silently ripening until it is suddenly time to use them or lose them. Luckily I've learned that an easy way to keep pears is to poach them then refrigerate them, and in the past few weeks I've tried a few different poached pear recipes (which I will share on this blog soon).

This week's recipe for the Tuesdays With Dorie baking group is the Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tart. The pears in this recipe are poached in red wine and paired with pistachio pastry cream. We've loved each of Dorie's tart recipes so far, and with poached pears on top, this one sounded delicious to me.


n.o.e.'s notes:

- The recipe involves 5 elements: tart crust, poached pears, pastry cream, caramelized nuts, and a sauce. They can be made ahead and assembled just before serving the tart.

- I gave away all of our pies to family members on Thanksgiving, so I baked a small tart for my husband and I to enjoy with our Thanksgiving leftovers. He doesn't care for pistachios, so I substituted almonds in the pastry cream and the topping.

- The poaching liquid consists of most of a bottle of wine (just a few drops left for the cook), sweetened, and flavored with strips of lemon and orange zest. I used honey instead of sugar. My pears were very ripe (almost too ripe), so they were tender after poaching for about 10 minutes.

- I forgot to add a few drops of lemon juice when I caramelized the almonds so some of them crystallized; luckily most of them turned out well. They did sort of clump together, and were impossible to separate when they were hot.

- My pastry cream got very thick very quick, even though it never really boiled. It was more of a pastry paste. I did not strain out the nuts. Before spreading it in the tart crust, I thinned it with sour cream.

- After I substituted milder almonds for the pistachios, I decided to match the bold flavor of the wine-poached pears with a more assertive tart crust. I've been wanting to experiment with a gluten-free tart crust, and decided to bake one that was entirely free of any grain. After a bit of online research I made a variation of an all-nut tart crust from Sunset Magazine (you can find the recipe buried halfway down this page). My biggest changes were adding an egg yolk and changing the steps to make the dough in my food processor. Here's how I made my crust:

- pulsed 2 cups of walnuts until finely chopped
- added 1/2 c almond meal + 3 T confectioner's sugar and pulsed to combine with walnuts
- added 6 T cold butter + pulsed until combined
- added 1 egg yolk + 1 tsp vanilla and pulsed until the dough began to hold together

- Then I pressed the dough into the tart pan, froze it for an hour, covered it with buttered foil, and baked 25 min at 350 degrees.

- I reduced the poaching liquid into a syrup, but didn't end up serving it with the tart. The citrus flavors combined with red wine reminded me strongly of sangria, and for us that's an experience better left in the '70's.


the verdict:

We enjoyed this tart for dessert on three consecutive evenings. My husband gave the tart a rating of 10 (out of 10)! I agree that it was a lovely dessert, one that I'm glad I tried. The pears took on an assertive, interesting, and appealing flavor from the wine-based poaching liquid. Luckily their intensity was matched by the robust nut tart crust. I'm sure that I will bake the crust again, especially when I need to bake a gluten free dessert.

Today is National Pie Day, and I think this tart is close enough, don't you? The recipe was chosen by Lauren of I’ll Eat You - you can find the recipe on her blog. (check it out - her tart looks even prettier than the one in the book!) or on pages 370 and 371 of Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

{TWD} French Pear Tart, a two part experiment

It's my suspicion that every one of the 370-odd Tuesdays With Dorie bakers were excited to try this week's recipe. The French Pear Tart was chosen by Dorie Greenspan, who's making a special appearance to bake with with us this week in honor of the first anniversary of the TWD baking group. You can find the recipe on Dorie's blog entry, or on page 368-369 of Dorie's book Baking From My Home to Yours.

What I liked about this choice is that it is wintry (pears!) and festive (so pretty!) and warm (and buttery!) yet light enough to follow a substantial holiday meal. I baked this twice for dinner parties over the Christmas holiday - once with a secret weapon ingredient, and once without - and have posted both below. My husband graciously agreed to guest post his verdict of both versions!

cook's notes:

- I had no idea what this was supposed to look like (fan the pears, how?) so I googled "Dorie Greenspan French Pear Tart" and found some blog posts with great pictures. Dorie's directions described it perfectly, but I just couldn't visualize this one without a picture...

- The recipe calls for a 9" tart pan with removable bottom. My tart pans are as follows: 10", 9.5", 8" and a 7.75" , but nary a 9". I spent a few minutes consulting my favorite online circle calculator and figured that if I doubled the crust recipe I could have enough for an 8" tart (40% of a double recipe) and a 10" tart (60% of a double recipe). I pressed the dough into both pans and froze the larger one unbaked for later, and made the 8" tart first

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Pilot (8") tart-

- I baked one pear tart last weekend, with the 8″ pan, making 80% of the almond cream recipe. That works out to 70 grams of butter, 104 grams of sugar, 62 grams of ground almonds, 1 1/2 tsp flour, 3/4 tsp cornstarch, 48 grams of egg (I used egg substitute), [and 1 1/2 tsp rum or 3/4 tsp vanilla] This was the perfect amount of filling for the tart.

- I could have saved myself a good deal of calculations had I just decided to make a full recipe and use the leftover crust and filling for a mini!

- As part of my Christmas purchases (for myself!) I ordered some cool-sounding flavorings from King Arthur, and thought I'd use one for the tart instead of the vanilla or the rum. It came down to a choice between "Buttered Rum" and "Amaretto" and I chose Buttered Rum. I wasn't sure how much to use, so measured out 1/2 tsp. As soon as I poured it into the almond cream, I had that sinking realization that I'd used too much (I should have added one or two drops, then checked the flavor). The almond cream filling smelled - and tasted - pretty strongly of boozy extract flavoring. I wasn't going to start over, so I crossed my fingers that it would bake off in the oven. (You know where this is going, right?)

- The almond cream was a little thick, and I didn't see the instruction about leveling it. Nor did I see the part about rubbing fresh pears with lemon juice. (I was in a hurry when I was baking this.)

- Two pears are all that fit in the 8" tart shell. My pears were very ripe but still firm enough to use. I used them fresh, and they did start to "tarnish" just as soon as I cut them, so I popped the tart into the oven the minute I had it assembled.

See those sliced almonds? Look at the finished tart (above, on the cake stand) to see where they ended up!

- I debated whether to glaze the tart or to dust it with powdered sugar, but in the end I forgot to do either. It still was really pretty.

- I baked the 8" tart about 46 or 48 minutes, but wish I'd baked it just a few minutes longer. It could have been just a little bit more set in the center.

the verdict on the Pilot Tart:
Here's a guest verdict written by my husband:

"French Pear Tart (Pilot): Nancy made this last week. The taste was sensational at first. Then a sharp hydrazine/acetone-like sensation engulfed my taste receptors and nasal passages. How imaginative to flavor with nail polish remover. Actually the source turned out to be “Butter Rum Flavor” from a certain “LorAnn Oils.” I opened the bottle and what came out suggested the sort of rocket fuel that would make Werner Von Braun and his V-2 guided missile pals down at Peenemünde blush with envy. The label says it contains “artificial flavor” and “propylene glycol” – the latter of which is antifreeze – must be the former is some kind of propellant. At least we won’t freeze up anytime soon; might put the rest in the Infiniti radiator to stave off winter, though, or in the gas tank if I need to get suborbital anytime soon. Caution: If you make FPT Pilot, do not consume around open flame."

Slice of the 8" tart laced with Butter Rum flavoring.
Looks pretty innocent, right? Who would guess that it harbors deadly intentions?

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Rev. 2.0 (10") tart-

- About a week later I pulled the 10" tart shell out of the freezer and whipped up another pear tart. This time I steered clear of anything remotely resembling alcohol.

- For the 10" tart, I made 1.2x recipe for the filling. The amounts were: 103 grams butter, 156 grams sugar, 93 grams almonds, 2 1/2 tsp flour, 1 1/4 tsp cornstarch, 72 grams egg. I used 1 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp almond extract.

- This time the filling was thinner, and leveled itself nicely (although I was ready with an offset palette knife.)

- After finally reading Dorie's directions a bit more carefully, I rubbed my fresh pears with lemon juice which might helped keep the pear browning to a minimum. Given how very ripe these pears were, I don't think anything would have kept them from getting a bit brown. Three pears fit beautifully (these were Harry and David, fairly large pears).


- I don't have the technical skills or patience (or tools?) to fan my pears and lay them precisely on top of the pastry cream in the tart shell. Once more I prove that "rustic" is my only option!

- It was a breeze making the tart this time, so I'd recommend doubling the tart crust recipe and pressing it in a tart pan for the freezer - if you can spare the tart pan.

The 10" tart, just out of the oven.

the verdict on Rev. 2.0:
My husband, again:

"French Pear Tart (Rev. 2.0): Nancy took a second cut at the recipe, without rocket fuel, and we both agreed it might the best thing she has ever made, which is to say, as good as it gets."

I served this tart at our Book Club's Christmas Dinner celebration. It was still warm from the oven, and all 7 of the others happily enjoyed theirs with vanilla ice cream. I loved mine "nekkid". I wish I had a picture of it unmolded on the platter, with its dusting of powdered sugar. It was so pretty and made a huge hit with the book club.

The 10" tart after a few days, when I got near a camera, some daylight, and some dry weather. It was still delicious as leftovers!