Gingerbread and pear tart - country living

8 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
4 cups Water
1 cup Granulated sugar
1 Cinnamon stick
4 (1 1/2 lb) Bosc pears
5 tablespoons Butter, softened
⅓ cup Firmly packed light-brown sugar
¼ cup Molasses
1 Large egg
1½ cup Unsifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Ground ginger
½ teaspoon Baking soda
½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon Salt
Sour Cream Custard (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon Apricot preserves or apple jelly, melted
Confectioners' sugar
1 Long sprig fresh lemon thyme (opt.)

Directions

1. In 2-quart saucepan, heat water, granulated sugar, and cinnamon stick to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Meanwhile, peel pears, cut each lengthwise in half, and core.

2. Reduce heat so water mixture just simmers and add pear halves; poach 10 in- utes. With slotted spoon, remove pear halves and place, cut sides down, on pa- per towels to drain and cool. (Poaching liquid can be stored in the refrigerator reused to poach other fruits, such as pies.)

3. Meanwhile, prepare gingerbread tart dough: In large bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add molasses and egg and beat on high speed until smooth and well blended. Reduce speed to very low. Add flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; beat on very low speed, scraping bowl as necessary, until soft dough forms.

4. Heat oven to 375'F. Lightly grease a 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. With floured fingers, spread dough mixture evenly on bottom and up side of tart pan. Place tart pan on rimmed baking sheet; set aside.

5. Prepare Sour Cream Custard, Spread custard in bottom of gingerbread-lined tart pan. With knife, score 4 lengthwise lines in rounded side of each pear half; place halves, scored sides up and stem ends toward center, in a ring in custard. Bake tart 30 to 35 minutes or until custard and crust are firm.

6. Remove tart from oven and heat broil- er. To brown pears on top of tart, cover tart with a piece of aluminum foil; pierce hole in foil above each pear half and pull back foil to uncover each pear only.

(The foil will now look like a spoked-wheel stencil.) Brush pear tops with jelly; broil tart 1 to 1½ minutes or until pear tops are just browned. Remove foil and cool tart to room temperature.

7. To serve, remove side of tart pan. Place tart on serving plate.

Sift confectioners' sugar around edge of tart and, if desired, garnish center with a sprig of lemon thyme that has been twisted into a wreath. Store any leftover tart in the refrigerator.

Sour Cream Custard: In food processor fitted with chopping blade or in blender, combine ½ C sour cream, 1 large egg, 3 T sugar, 2 T all- purpose flour, 1 T milk, and 1 t grated lemon rind. Process or blend until smooth.

Country Living/Dec/93 Scanned and fixed by DP and GG

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