Happy New Year! Wishing everyone a new year filled with all good things and delicious bites, sprinkled with sweetness and brimming with flavors to savor.My first post of the new year features Pretty Pear Pastries that are as beautiful to serve as they are a treat for the taste buds.You’re going to love these.
I think these pastry-wrapped pears make for a dessert that feels as elegant as it is indulgent.
Each pear half is tender, sweet and enveloped in a buttery, flaky pastry that is baked to golden perfection.
As the pastry crisps in the oven, it locks in the pear’s natural juiciness, creating a delightful contrast between the soft fruit and the crunchy exterior.
It’s so good, and so pretty.
You’ll need to peel and lightly boil the pears before slicing them in halves and allowing them to dry just a bit before wrapping them in the pastry.
Try to leave the stem on one of the halves, if possible.
Ideally, the pear’s stem will peek out from the top of the baked dessert, adding a whimsical, natural touch to the golden pastry shell.
Once you place the pear half onto the rolled-out pastry dough, use a paring knife to carefully cut the dough in the shape of the pear.
Then, wrap a slightly larger cut of dough around the top of the pear, with edges wrapped around the bottom of the pear.
Gently, press the lower edges of the top of the dough to seal around the bottom, as you can see in the photo above.
For the half with no stem, you’ll need to form the pastry to shape a faux stem.
Use leftover dough to free-hand cut dough-leaves. Use the back of the paring knife to gently add “veining” in the leaves for a more realistic look.
Brush entire pastry with an egg wash and lightly sprinkle with course sugar before baking.
The natural sweetness of the fruit harmonizes with the richness of the pastry, making it a dessert that’s satisfying without being overly heavy.
Pastry-Wrapped Pears
Ingredients
- 4 pears
- 2-1/2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup cold, unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 3 tbsp ice water
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse flour and salt together.
- Add cold butter and pulse until course pieces form
- Sprinkle with ice water, one tablespoon at a time
- Pulse food process until the dough is crumbly but still holds together
- Do not overmix
- Dump contents onto wax paper or surface. Form dough into a 1-inch thick disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm. At least one hour
- Peel pears and slice in half. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and rough inner section.
- Try to keep the stem in place, where possible.
- Soft boil pears and place on a paper towel to drain.
- Roll out dough and place pear half onto dough. Cut the dough around the pear leaving about 1/2-inch clearance.
- Place pear half down onto dough, cut side facing down.
- Eyeball cut an oval shape piece of dough, slightly larger to cover the top of the pear. Gently drape the pear and press the edges underneath the pear to seal.
- Use excess dough to cut small leaves
- For pears WITH a stem, press dough around the base of the stem and wrap stem in a small piece of foil to prevent scorching.
- For pastries without a stem, form a faux stem using dough at the top of the pear.
- Lightly brush entire pear and leaves with egg wash.
- Lightly sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake at 350-degrees, until golden brown.
- Remove and serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and/or homemade salted caramel sauce. (Sauce recipe below).
Of course, caramel elevates just about any dessert. No argument there, right?
Drizzle the caramel over the scoop of ice cream and/or the pear pastry for added color and delicious-decadence.
The salted caramel sauce recipe below is the easiest I’ve ever made.
If you love salted caramel as much as I do, take a look at a few of my previous posts featuring caramel.
Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 2-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1-1/4 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Combine the cream, butter and salt in a saucepan and heat over medium heat.
- Stir continuously until the butter has completed melted. Remove from stove top and set aside on an oven mitt or trivet. Cover pan with tea towel to keep mixture warm.
- In another saucepan, heat the sugar and water on medium-high heat.
- Stir continuously until sugar has dissolved and has the color of dark amber. Watch carefully to prevent sugar from burning. It can happen in an instant.
- Pour the cream that was set aside early into the amber colored mixture.
- Stir to dissolve all contents until thick caramel develops.
- Serve caramel hot or allow to cool.
- Store in refrigerator in an airtight container for 1 week.
I hope you give these Pretty Pear Pastries a try.
They’re easy to make and as you can see, they plate up beautifully too.
Thanks for popping by for this first post of the brand new year.
Happy New Year.
See you back here next time.♥
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