Pear And Pistachio Cake With Belle De Brillet And Vanilla Custard Recipes

PEARS BELLE HELENE

Steps:

• Peel, halve, and core the pears and sprinkle over them the lemon juice to stop them from discoloring. In a wide shallow pan (in which the pears will fit in 1 layer - otherwise cook them in batches) put 1 1/4 cups water, the sugar, and the vanilla bean, if using. Bring to a boil, stirring every now and again to make sure the sugar dissolves, then lower the heat slightly and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the vanilla extract, if using. Put the pears into the liquid, cut side down, and raise the heat again so that the syrup boils up and the pears are covered by it. You may need to spoon the syrup over. After half a minute or so, lower the heat, then cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes; turn the pears, cover the pan again, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Continue poaching until the pears are cooked and translucent; they should feel tender (but not soggy) when pierced. They may need more or less cooking time - it depends on the pears. Take off the heat, keep covered, and leave to cool.
• Now the chocolate sauce: place the chocolate, broken up into small pieces, in a thick-bottomed pan with the coffee and sugar and melt over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Then pour in the cream, still stirring, and when it is very hot pour into a warmed sauceboat or a bowl with a ladle.
• To serve, arrange pears cut side down on a big flat plate and pour some syrup over. (Any remaining syrup will keep in the refrigerator or freezer and can be used to pour over apples or other fruit when making pies or crumbles. You can wash the vanilla pod, wipe it and put it in a canister of sugar.) Offer with ice cream, sauce, and pistachios, if using, served separately; allow diners to help themselves.

VANILLA CUSTARD WITH RASPBERRY MASH

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse for 10 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the empty saucepan.
• Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Pour into individual dessert dishes and chill. Chill at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. (The custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Cover with plastic wrap if you are keeping it longer than that.)
• Raspberry Mash: Place 1/4 of a pint of raspberries in a bowl with the sugar and mash it with the back of a fork. Toss in the remaining 1/4-pint of raspberries and gently toss to coat.
• Whip the cream with the sugar and serve on the custard and mash.

DARK CHOCOLATE, PEAR, PISTACHIO CAKE

Steps:

• CAKE.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Butter a 9in springform cake pan, then line the bottom with baking paper and butter the paper.
• Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Process the chocolate and pistachios in a food processor until coarse crumbs form.
• Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, beating until well combined, then beat in the vanilla.
• Stir the flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture, then add the pistachio and chocolate mixture and the pear.
• Pour into the springform pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 30-40 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes then carefully remove the mold.
• CHOCOLATE GANACHE.
• Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat to just BELOW boiling. Watch carefully to avoid scalding.
• Add chocolate and stir until smooth.
• Remove from heat and set aside until slightly thickened (5-10 minutes).
• Pour ganache over the cake, scatter with pistachios, and place in the refrigerator to set (20-30 minutes).
• Enjoy!