Cherry Almond Pear Crostata Recipes

PEAR AND FRANGIPANE CROSTATA

Steps:

• Make the dough: Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a stand mixer or in a bowl with a sturdy whisk, beat together sugar, salt, eggs and butter. Fold in flour and knead the dough into a ball. Squash the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 2 days before using. (Dough can also be frozen up to 2 months.) Roll out dough using a lightly floured rolling pin or press dough into a 10-inch French tart pan. Freeze or refrigerate tart shell while you make the filling. (It is not necessary to blind bake the tart shell.)
• Make the filling: Whisk together almonds, sugar, butter, egg yolks and whole egg until creamy, then whisk in rum and almond extract.
• Spread the frangipane batter evenly over the bottom of tart shell, and arrange pear slices over in a circular pattern. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake at 375 degrees, for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees. (If pastry is browning too quickly, loosely cover edges with foil.) Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden but not too dark and a toothpick pushed into the center of the tart comes out clean. If it doesn't, bake a few minutes longer.

CHERRY-ALMOND-PEAR CROSTATA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F. In medium bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons sugar and the salt. Cut in 1/2 cup butter, using pastry blender, until particles are size of small peas. In small bowl, mix egg and 2 tablespoons of the water; sprinkle over flour mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and dough almost leaves side of bowl (up to 1 tablespoon more water can be added). Gather dough into a ball; shape into flattened 5-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.
• On floured surface, roll pastry into 13-inch round. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
• In food processor, place 1/4 cup of the sugar, 1/4 cup of the butter pieces and the almond paste. Cover; process with on-and-off pulses until crumbly. Between pieces of plastic wrap, form mixture into a disk; roll to 10-inch round. Place over center of crust.
• In large bowl, mix remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour and the cardamom. Stir in pears to coat. Mix in cherries and lemon juice. Spoon pear mixture over almond layer to within 3 inches of edge. Dot with 2 tablespoons remaining butter pieces. Fold 2-inch edge of crust up over pear mixture, pleating crust. Brush crust edge with water; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
• Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until pears are tender and crust is brown. Cool 20 minutes. Cut into wedges; serve warm.

PEAR AND CRANBERRY CROSTATA

Steps:

• For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and toss quickly with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the 1/4 cup ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and form into 2 disks. Wrap the disks with plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Roll each pastry disk into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer them to 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
• For the filling, peel, core, and quarter the pears. Cut each quarter into big chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Divide the pear chunks between the pastries, covering the dough and leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cranberries over the top of each tart.
• Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the two tarts. Gently fold the border of each tart over the pears, pleating it to make a circle.
• Bake the crostatas for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the pears are tender. Let the tarts cool for 5 minutes, then use 2 large spatulas to transfer them to wire racks.

CHERRY FOLDITUP

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in water and vodka, if using. Toss with a fork until flour mixture is moistened, then use your hands to bring dough together into a ball. Flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Roll dough into a large disk about 13 inches wide and 1/8-inch thick. Transfer dough to the prepared baking sheet.
• Pour cherry filling into the middle of the dough, leaving a 3-inch border. Fold the outside edge of the dough over the fruit, making occasional pleats.
• Brush milk over dough; generously sprinkle with sugar. Bake in the preheated oven until crust is golden and the fruit is bubbling, 35 minutes.

PEAR AND ALMOND CROSTATA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, add cream cheese, sugar, flour, 1 egg and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer until well blended and smooth. Set aside.
• Divide each package of almond paste into 4 equal portions. On a floured work surface roll each portion into a 6-inch round, about 1/8-inch thick. Put 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese filling into the center of each round. Spread the filling out in an even layer, about 1/2-inch from the edge of the round.
• Quarter each pear and remove the core. Cut each quarter into 5 slices. Fan out 5 of the pear slices on top of the filling in the center of 1 of the rounds. Gently fold the edge of the almond paste round over the edge of the filling. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets and repeat with the remaining almond rounds, filling and pears.
• Whisk together the remaining egg and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl until well blended. Using a pastry brush lightly brush each crostata with the egg wash and sprinkle each with the raw sugar.
• Put the baking sheets into the oven and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. Serve each crostata on individual plates with a small scoop of ice cream and garnished with sliced almonds and mint.

CHERRY PEAR PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Refrigerate while preparing filling., In a large bowl, toss pears and cherries with lemon juice and extract. In a small bowl, mix sugar and cornstarch; add to pear mixture, tossing to coat. Transfer to pastry-lined pie plate., For topping, in a small bowl, mix flour and sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in almonds. Sprinkle over filling., Bake 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cover edge loosely with foil during the last 15 minutes if needed to prevent overbrowning. Cool on a wire rack.