I cant believe that it is a week since I have posted! It is definitely that time of year!!! Functions on every night lat week and being pregnant means that my evenings aren’t quite as full of baking as they used to be. Work is also exceptionally busy so I have been enjoying reading with my feet up rather than hours in the kitchen. Perhaps a sign of things to come?
But I did manage to make the TWD recipe this week which is Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tart and was chosen by Lauren of I’ll Eat You. I almost didn’t make this tart. I have been told to slow down a bit and the three steps (three pages in the recipe book) and assembly of this tart almost defeated me. I ended up using some shortcrust pastry I had in the freezer ( a Dorie recipe but I am not sure which one!!), made a quarter of the pastry cream recipe and only poached one pear. I made two little tarts, one each for my husband and father in law is staying with us at the moment, helping with our landscaping.
The pastry cream for this tart was the star of the tart as far as I was concerned. It is made by grinding pistachio nuts with a little sugar and then warming the milk for the custard with the nut mixture in it. The pastry cream turns out a beautiful pistachio green colour (funnily enough!) and has that unique taste of pistachios. Dories says that you can strain out the nuts, but I wonder why you would want to do that, as in my view it is the fine pieces of nut that gives the tart it’s charm.
The pears are poached in a red wine syrup, cooled and then displayed on the tart. The garnish is toffeed pistachio nuts. This step did defeat me however, and I just chopped raw pistachio nuts for my garnish. The tarts were well received by my husband and his dad. I don’t think I would make this again though, mostly because I don’t like pears!
See if the other TWDers enjoyed the tart here.
11 comments:
It looks wonderful Tammy! I hope your pregnancy is going well :) I had to skip this week, just not enough hours in a day! i will be posting Nutella Peanut Butter Cookies though! :)
It looks beautiful! I'm not sure this was the recipe to make if you're trying to slow down, though. What a project!
I was surprised at how green the pastry cream was. I always thought that some green coloring was added to pistachio flavored things, but maybe not.
Tammy, Gorgeous tart! I skipped this week, but can't wait to make this one. Beautiful job!
Your tarts look lovely Tammy - great job! Sorry to hear you don't like pears - and I agree, the pastry cream is the star here.
Pink and green - how very you. Perhaps you could pear (I mean pair) the pistachio with some other fruit to suit your taste?
The pastry cream was my second-favorite part -- the candied pistachios were wonderful. But overall, I wasn't all that impressed. I like your little mini-tarts!
I would hate to see what you bake when you are trying to slow down! :)
Your tarts look great. I passed on this one. Didn't have the ingredients on hand for it. Made Dorie's blueberry pie instead.
too bad you don't like pears, b/c this sure looks good!
Hi Tammy, Just found out about you from the Sunday magazine article on Food Bloggers. Great work and very inspirational - especially while being pregnant and working as a full time lawyer! All the best with everything. I'll visit again.
Yummy Nice recipe
What a beautiful tart! I love the colour the pears take on. Thanks!
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