Food Fest: Pears

It’s official. Margaret Roach of A Way to Garden and Deb Puchalla of Dinner Tonight sent out the last call for recipes in the food fest blog sharing that they’ve been doing all summer.

Pears were Margaret’s final challenge and I left one of my favorite recipes on her site. But I’m reprinting it here for those who love pears and marzipan and chocolate. It’s an elegant though not particularly difficult dessert to make.

I call it Mazarintarta, a rather Scandinavian nomenclature, based on its original source as a plain marzipan tart. The addition of pears and chocolate as well as the reference to Frangipane filling, however, make for a bit of culture clash. Feel free to call it what you will as long as you make it this fall when pears are plentiful.

MAZARINTARTA

THE CRUST
The recipe calls for “your favorite short crust recipe.” I use Martha Stewart’s Pate Sucree crust from “Pies and Tarts.”

THE CHOCOLATE LAYER
Spread three ounces of melted, semi-sweet chocolate on the bottom crust. This works best if the crust is frozen (or at least chilled).

THE PEAR LAYER
Peel, core and slice three pears. Arrange them over the chocolate in concentric circles. (There are showier ways to present the pears but this way they are a surprise along with the chocolate when you cut the tart).

THE FRANGIPANE FILLING
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 eggs
one cup almond paste
one tablespoon flour
grated lemon rind to taste

Cream butter until fluffy. Beat in almond paste two tablespoons at a time. Beat in the eggs and rind and blend until smooth. Spread over the pears and bake in a 325 degree oven for about 50 minutes. Cool and dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Original recipe by Nancy Christy. Illustration by Linda Brazill. From a broadside printed by The Red Ozier Press, Madison.

Comments

[margaret]

Yes, it was the official "Last Call," but I haven't even started on the 10 batches of applesauce or dealt with my mystery pears. Perhaps some of them will yield to ripeness and become one of your elegant tarts?

[Each Little World]

Dealing with the amounts of produce a garden produces is one reason I pretty much stick to ornamentals. My 50 year old apple trees merely provide fodder for the critters and the compost bin.

[Term Papers]

The addition of pears and chocolate as well as the reference to Frangipane filling, however, make for a bit of culture clash.