Fresh Pear Custard
Tart
Makes 8 servings
1 recipe Single ~ Crust Pastry { see below }
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups fat free milk
2 beaten eggs
4 teaspoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup pear nectar
1 & 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 small ripe pears
1/2 cup fresh berries { such as raspberries, blackberries, and/or
blueberries } If you can't find fresh berries frozen berries { thawed }will work
fine
Prepare Single
Crust Pastry; set aside.
For vanilla
cream; in a heavy medium saucepan combine sugar and 2 tablespoons
cornstarch. Stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture
is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from
heat. Gradually stir about 1 cup of the hot mixture into beaten eggs.
Return all of
the egg mixture to the saucepan. Stir in the ginger. Cook and stir until
bubbly. Reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
Stir in vanilla. Pour vanilla cream into baked tart shell. Cover and
chill until ready to assemble.
Meanwhile, for
glaze, in a small saucepan combine the pear nectar and 1 & 1/2 teaspoons
cornstarch. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for
2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Cover and cool to room temperature.
To assemble
tart, peel, core, and thinly slice the pears. Arrange in a circular
pattern over the vanilla cream. Pour cooled glaze over pears, spreading
evenly. Cover and chill 1 to 4 hours. To serve, top with berries. Makes
10 servings.
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Single ~ Crust
Pastry In a medium mixing bowl stir together 1-1/4 cups all purpose
flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Combine 1/4 cup skim milk and 3 tablespoons
cooking oil. Add oil mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir with a
fork until dough forms. Form dough into a ball.
On a lightly
floured surface, flatten the ball of dough with hands. Roll dough with a
rolling pin
from the center to the edge, forming a circle about 13 inches in
diameter. Ease pastry into an 11 inch tart pan with removable bottom,
being careful not to stretch the pastry. Trim pastry to the edge of the
tart pan. Prick the bottom, sides, and corners of pastry generously with
the tines of a fork, fill bottom of the unbaked shell with 1 cup of
uncooked rice to keep the shell bottom flat. { Cool the shell and gently
remove the rice }. Bake in a 450°
oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until pastry is golden. Cool in pan on a
wire rack.
Make Ahead Tip: Prepare tart as directed. Cover and chill for up to 4
hours. Just before serving, top with berries.
