Welcome 2016! There’s still more celebrating to do and I’m a girl who likes her dessert. So bring it on with this light and tasty pear tart delivering all the deliciousness and glamour you expect.
The crust comes together easily with a food processor and is perfect every time. There’s no rolling-out or mending torn layers, you simply mold the crust in the tart-pan and bake it to a golden flaky brown. It’s tender and slightly sweet, ensuring every last crumb will be eaten…it’s that good.
There’s a secret ingredient in my tart crust….ready? Tito’s Potato Vodka. It’s added last as a binding agent bringing the dough together to a perfect texture. You can use any vodka, but I prefer GF Potato Vodka.
And we can’t forget the star of this tart….Pears. They’re sweet, golden-roasted and gently scented with cinnamon and cardamom and are topped with a light apricot/pecan glaze. And here’s the last taa-daa….a slight tangy freshness of lemons surrounding the tender pears. Yep, pretty sure it’s drool-worthy.
Happy New Year! I hope you continue to eat dessert and enjoy every…..last…..bite.
- 1¼ cups all purpose gluten free flour
- Pinch of salt
- 4 Tbsp cold butter cut into cubes
- 3 Tbsp Crisco butter flavored shortening
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2-3 Tbsp Potato Vodka
- ¼ cup powdered sugar for kneading/dusting
- 4 pears, peeled, cored, and sliced into wedges
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 3-4 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp corn starch
- ¼ tsp cardamom
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅓ cup Apricot preserves
- 1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- 2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a tart pan with non-stick.
- Pulse the flour, salt, butter, and shortening in food processor until small pea like crumbles form.
- Add the beaten egg and blend until totally combined into the dough.
- While pulsing, add the vodka just until the dough comes together.
- Dust your working surface with the ¼ cup of powdered sugar and gather the dough in to a ball. Knead the powdered sugar into the dough, not working too much, but blending.
- Break the dough into pieces and distribute around the tart pan. Start pressing the dough from the middle out to cover the bottom of pan, creating a bottom ‘crust’ then halfway up the sides. Dust a little of the remaining powdered sugar onto the dough when done. Prick the bottom with a fork.
- Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
- In a medium glass bowl combine all filling ingredients and toss to combine. Arrange the pear wedges in a circular pattern in the tart shell, you'll have two layers.
- Pour the remaining liquid over the pears evenly.
- Combine the apricot preserves, lemon juice, and pecans and microwave for 30 seconds just to make it easier to glaze. Stir in the 2 Tbsp of heavy cream and combine. Pour over the top of tart covering all the pears.
- Brush the edges of the crust with heavy cream to help brown.
- Return to oven and bake 45 minutes until pears are tender and golden.
- Allow to cool and serve with sweetened whipping cream.
