Pears With Figs And Honey In Freeform Pastry

 

‘Tis the Season for turkey, cranberries and, yes, pears. This is an easier-than-you-thought-it would-be dessert and I hope you will give it a try. After the first time you make this, you will wonder why you didn’t make it sooner.

 

Fruit Mixture

  • 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp. cornstarch
  • pinch of ground cardamom
  • pinch of ground cloves
  • pinch of kosher salt
  • 4 Anjou pears, cored, cut into 8 wedges. Do not peel
  • 10 dried but moist Calimyrna figs, stemmed and quartered
  • whipping cream for brushing
  • 2 tbsp. honey
  • raw sugar

Pastry

  • 1  2/3 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup cornmeal
  • 2 tbsp. sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, chilled
  • 3 tbsp. (or more) cold water

Blend the first 4 items in a processor, and add the butter using a stop-start method until it looks like coarse meal. Spoon the water over the mixture and blend only until it forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for no less than 20 minutes. Remove, let it soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

On parchment paper, roll out pastry to make a 14 inch square or round. Try to make it even and carefully transfer to a cookie sheet.

Mix the sugars, cornstarch, spices, and salt together. Add the fruit and mix together gently.

Mound the pear mixture with the juices in the center, leaving at least 2 inches of border plain. Now,  use the parchment paper as your guide and roll the pastry up over the edges of the fruit. If it cracks, try to mend to seal any cracks. Brush the edges with the whipping cream and sprinkle generously with the raw sugar.

Bake for about 50-60 minutes until the pastry is golden and the fruit is bubbling. If it starts browning too quickly, cover with tin foil. Remove from the oven, drizzle the honey over the hot filling. Run a long thin knife around the pastry edges to loosen. Cool on the parchment paper for about 1 hour.

Serve warm. If you really want decadence, serve with best quality vanilla ice ceam.

OMG! My mouth is watering now. Yummy.