Honeyed Pear Clafouti Tart by Caitlin
Shortbread Dough (optional, but makes this tart very delicious and decadent, see recipe below)
5 tb honey (recommended at least 2 tb artisanal honey, and the rest grocery store kind is fine. I used this stronger tasting autumnal Quebec honey)
3 large pears, about 1 ½ pounds total. Cored and sliced into about 8 pieces large pieces
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
½ cup white sugar (If you’d like a less sweet tart, use a scant ½ cup)
3 tb cornstarch
1 cup cream (I used 18% table cream). Or mixture of heavy cream 35% and half and half or homogenized milk, depending on how decadent you want this to taste. The more fat in the cream, the better it will taste.
1 cup sliced blanched almonds*
*I chopped ~1/2 cup unblanched (skin on) almonds. Definitely would give a nicer texture if blanched almonds were used, but mine still tasted delicious without.
6 tb unsalted butter ¾ cup all-purpose flour
3 tb white sugar Grated zest of ½ a lemon
½ tsp vanilla extract ¼ tsp kosher salt
Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a mixer until just mixed together, about 1 minute. Add the flour zest, and salt and mix another minute until the dough forms a ball. It will still be quite crumbly. If not making the tart right away, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Instructions for making the Clafouti
Form the shortbread dough into a disk and center it in a 10 inch round fluted tart a with a removable bottom. If you don’t have a tart pan, a glass pie plate works fine as well.
If using a tart pan: use your palm to press the dough into the bottom of the pan, and your fingers to press it up the sides, the dough will be very thin, but make sure it is generally even. If using a pie plate: press the dough flat till it covers the bottom of the pie plate
Bake until golden brown, and your nose tells you it’s done-about 15 minutes.
Note: this step can be done a few days ahead and the dough stored for a day or two in the fridge before making the clafouti or prebaked and frozen, then thawed, filling added and baked.
Using a whisk or a fork, whisk together the eggs, yolks and white sugar until pale and foamy. Whisk in the cornstarch until no lumps remain, then whisk in the cream until the mixture is smooth
Bake until the custard is set and the top is brown, about 35 minutes for the tart pan.
Serve warm. This will also keep for about a week in the fridge covered.