Asian Pear Tart with Pâte Brisée Filling

 

Our church has been continuing to bless us with fruit and today Asian pears got to take the spotlight. I've never baked with them before but my first thought was to make a tart. I made a rich pastry crust, filled them with a pâte brisée filling and topped them with Asian pear slices. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and enjoy!

God Bless,

Sandra xoxo

Rich Pastry Crust

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1 egg

1-2 tablespoons milk

Stir together the flour and butter. Cut cold butter into the flour until mixture resembles course crumbs. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add one egg and one tablespoon milk. Slowly stir mixture together until it forms a ball. If necessary, add the additional tablespoon of milk. Divide the dough into four parts for individual shells or don't divide it for a 9" tart shell. Roll out the dough and press into tart shells. Prick the dough with a fork and/or use pie beads to keep the shells from bubbling. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

Pâte Brisée (Almond Cream)

3/4 cup almond flour

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon flour

3/4 cup butter, room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

In a small bowl, sift together dry ingredients. In a stand mixer, or hand mixer, cream together butter and vanilla until soft and fluffy. Add in dry ingredients. Add egg. 

Assembling

When the shells are done baking (should still be light colored), remove from the oven and fill with the almond cream. Arrange pealed and thinly sliced Asian pear slices on top. Bake at 325 F for 35-40 minutes or until the crust and filling are golden brown. 

Sourdough Apple Spice Cake Roll

Nothing quite says fall like pumpkins...wait...apples! I saw this delicious recipe for a Sourdough Pumpkin Roll over at Farmhouse on Boone and I couldn't wait to make it. I've been making sourdough on a daily basis for a year now (see how to make sourdough starter here) and, as a person being gluten-free for 10 years, I've been able to tolerate wheat if it's fermented. So, this recipe appealed to me because of my love of pumpkin, fall, fermented wheat and all things delicious!

 I started making the recipe, only to realize that my new obsession with homemade pumpkin lattes had depleted my stash of pumpkin...sigh. But not to be discouraged, I did have applesauce on hand and so my pumpkin roll instantly became an apple roll, and who's to say it isn't every bit as delicious, or even more delicious, if you're in an apple-loving mood? 

I basically followed the recipe how it's listed, but since I was using applesauce instead of pumpkin, I scaled back the sugar a bit since apples are much sweeter. We try to stay away from overly sweetened foods to fine tune our taste buds to the richness of food in their natural state.

From our kitchen to yours, happy cooking!

             God Bless, 

                Sandra xoxo

            Apple Cake

            1 cup flour

            1/2 cup applesauce

            1/2 cup sourdough starter

            1 teaspoon cinnamon

            1/2 teaspoon salt

            3 eggs

            2 teaspoons vanilla

            1/3 cup maple sugar (or 1/2 cup regular sugar)

            1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix the first three ingredients together. Cover with a dishcloth and allow to ferment 12-24 hours. Add the remaining ingredients to the mixture and bake at 375 F on a parchment lined 10x15" baking sheet for 15 minutes or until done. 

As soon as it comes out of the oven, place a dish towel over the cake and flip the cake onto the towel being careful to not tear the cake.  Roll it up in the dishcloth until cool.

            Filling

            8 ounces cream cheese

            1/4 teaspoon butter

            1/4 cup maple syrup

            1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add in the maple syrup and vanilla. Unroll the cake and evenly coat the entire cake with the filling. Roll it back up. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.