| CATEGORY |
CUISINE |
TAG |
YIELD |
| Fruits |
California |
Cake, Fruit, Black tie, Menu |
6 |
Servings |
INGREDIENTS
| 9 |
tb |
Unsalted butter |
| 9 |
tb |
Confectioners' sugar; sifted |
| 1 1/2 |
c |
All-purpose flour; sifted unbleached |
| 6 |
oz |
Semisweet chocolate; or bittersweet |
| 2 |
tb |
Unsalted butter |
| 2 |
c |
Water |
| 1 |
c |
Sugar |
| 1 |
ts |
Vanilla extract |
| 1 |
|
Strip lemon peel; (3 inch) |
| 1/2 |
|
Cinnamon stick |
|
|
Splash of Cognac |
| 4 |
|
Pears; Bosc |
| 1 |
|
Jar apricot preserves; (12 ounce) |
| 2 |
tb |
Curacao; orange liqueur or |
|
|
Pear brandy |
| 1/4 |
c |
Sliced almonds; toasted |
| 1 1/2 |
to |
2 inches up the sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Prick well with |
INSTRUCTIONS
SHORTBREAD CRUST:
CHOCOLATE LAYER:
POACHED PEARS:
GLAZE:
GARNISH:
To make the shortbread crust, cream together the butter and sugar. Blend
in= the flour to make a soft dough. Add 1 more tablespoon butter if the
mixture will not incorporate all the flour.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Pat the dough evenly by hand into the bottom and
a fork. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool completely.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler over simmering water.
Spread on the bottom and up the side a little to hide the 'seam' of the the
tart shell and let cool until the chocolate hardens.
To Prepare Pears: peel, stem, halve, and core the pears. (Photo tells me
that the pears were peeled by slicing; the roundness is sharpened into an
8-sided geometry that is quite attractive.)
Bring the water and sugar to a boil over medium heat in a large saucepan,
stirring only until the sugar is dissolved. Add the vanilla, lemon peel,
cinnamon and Cognac and cook for 5 minutes. Add the pears and poach for 10
to 15 minutes, until they can be easily pierces with a sharp paring knife.
Let cool in the syrup.
For the glaze, put the apricot preserves in a food processor fitted with
the steel blade and process until smooth. Strain and add the liqueur.
To assemble, drain the pears well, pat them dry, cut crosswise into
l/4-inch slices (as evenly as possible across all pears) and arrange
carefully in the tart shell, stem ends at the center. (Photo shows 7-halves
~- not all 8 -- in the wheel.) Brush the pears with some of the apricot
glaze and sprinkle with the toasted almonds.
Use a warm or heated sharp knife to cut wedges.
(c) 1986 by Los Angeles County Museum of Art. NY: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc.
[mc-recipe: patH Sep 96]
Recipe By : California Cooking: Parties, Picnics & Celebrations
Posted to MC-Recipe Digest V1 #242
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 1996 20:26:00 -0700 (PDT)
From: PatH <phannema@wizard.ucr.edu>
NOTES : Menu "Black Tie Dinner in Beverly Hills" A dramatic dessert, fruit
and chocolate. Makes one 10-inch tart. By using a springform pan, is
'tres elegante'
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