Recipe: Pear and ?Mascarpone Cheese Tart?

Credit: David Gallagher

Pears are arranged attractively on the mascarpone cheese base

Ingredients

• 1 cup unbleached 
 all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup cold unsalted 
 butter, cut into pieces

• 3 Tbsp. icing sugar

• 1 Tbsp. finely grated 
 lemon rind

• 1 (16 oz.) jar miniature pears in grappa syrup 
 or 5 small fresh pears

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar

• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese

• 1 egg

• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup toasted chopped hazelnuts (optional)



Instructions

Pastry

1. Place flour, butter, icing sugar and lemon rind in bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade.
2. Pulse 8-10 times to break up the butter, then process until dough leaves the sides of the bowl and forms a loose ball.
3. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill 15 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove dough from wrap and flatten slightly.
5. Roll out onto a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Fit into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom.
6. Fit a sheet of parchment or waxed paper inside the pastry shell and fill with dried beans or pie weights.
7. Blind bake the shell for 12-15 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Filling

1. Meanwhile, peel and core the fresh pears.
2. Slice lengthwise into sixths. Sprinkle with half the sugar and set aside. (If using preserved pears, drain and slice in half. Omit sugar.)
3. In a large bowl, combine cheese, remaining sugar, egg and vanilla.
4. Spread the mixture over the cooked pastry shell.
5. Arrange pear slices attractively over top and bake for 20 minutes or until tart is golden brown.
6. Just before serving, sprinkle with hazelnuts if desired.

Serves 6-8.

Recipe courtesy Caren McSherry from the Gourmet Warehouse


Originally published in TV Week. For daily updates, subscribe to the free TV Week e-newsletter, or purchase a subscription to the weekly magazine.