It all started so innocently.  I just wanted to find a way to use some pears.  “How about a tart,”  I thought. 

A true tart has exposed fruit filling on top.  I actually made a pie, since I used a top crust.  But, I called it a tart anyway because I’m a rebel.

Ingredients for the pie crust:

½ cup lard

¼ cup butter

3 cups flour

¾ tsp salt

¼ cup cold water

Ingredients for the pie filling:

8 Bartlett pears

Juice of ½ lemon

3 Tbs flour

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp cardamom

Ingredients for the egg wash:

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbs sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Cut butter into smallish pieces chill in the freezer, along with the lard, for about 20 minutes.

Sift flour and salt together. 

Cut butter and lard into flour.  Continue to use a cutting action until the flour mixture resembles corn meal, in texture.  Cover and return to refrigerator to chill.

Rinse, wash and peel pears.  Quarter the pears by cutting the pears in half, lengthwise and then cutting them in half again.  With a  paring knife, cut a small arc across the ridge of the slice pear to remove the seeds and hard membrane. 

Add the pear pieces to a large mixing bowl.  Add juice of ½ lemon and toss the pears to coat.  Set aside.

Mix together 1 tablespoon flour, ½ tsp cinnamon and ¼ tsp cardamom in a small bowl.  Sprinkle the mixture over the pears and give the pears a few tosses.

Remove flour mixture from refrigerator.  Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time.  Gently incorporate the water and continue adding water until the dough begins to hold together.  Divide the dough into two equal parts.  Set one part aside. 

Lay one of the dough halves onto a lightly floured surface.  Form the dough into a ball and press down to flatten into a disc.  Turn the disc over and roll out with a rolling pin.  Start in the middle of the disc and roll toward the edges.  Continue rolling until disc is 10” to 11” wide. 

Center the pie crust on a 9” glass pie pan.  Press the dough down gently to conform to the pan.  Pour the pears into the pie pan.

Roll out the other half of the dough and center it on top of the pears, in the pie pan.  Press the two pie crusts together at the seams to seal them, or use a fork or other tool to seal the edges.

Prepare the egg wash for the pie crust by whisking and egg in a small bowl.  Apply the egg wash with a pastry brush.  Sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon on top.

Place the pie pan on the middle rack of a 400° oven.  Bake for 30 minutes and then turn the oven down to 350°.  Bake for another 20 minutes. 

Rest the pie pan on a cooling rack for an hour before slicing.  The pie filling will thicken as it cools. 

This is when things took an unexpected turn.  I was impressed with how well the crust baked.  I could rotate the pie within the pie plate with just a little effort which meant that the crust did not stick to the pie pan, while it baked.  I decided to invert the pie pan and inspect the bottom pie crust.  I figured that I had already taken pictures of the competed pie so I had nothing to lose.  Once I had the pie resting  upside down on a cutting board, I felt along the surface of the crust.  It didn’t feel as crisp as the top crust, which makes sense, because it wasn’t exposed to air while it baked. 

The oven was still hot and I wanted to give the pie a few more minutes in the oven to crisp the bottom crust.  I inverted the pie again and set it on a metal rack.  As I took the metal rack to the open oven, the pie slid off and crashed onto the open oven door.  It all happened so quickly, yet it seemed like slow motion at the same time.

The pie was a total wreck.  There was no way to hide the massive damage.  It all happened so quickly that I didn’t even find time to curse.  I just stood there and stared, numb and unblinking.  I grabbed a piece of pear that had  broken free from the crust and tasted it and I came up with a plan.

Pear Tart a la Mode

Ingredients:

1 broken pear tart

1 cup brown sugar

3 Tbs hot water

½ gallon, high quality vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Break apart a pear tart and put the chunks in large mixing bowl.  Set aside.

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Heat 1 cup brown sugar in a heavy bottomed stainless steel pan, at medium-low heat.  When the sugar melts, reduce heat to low and stir for one minute.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Carefully add the hot water.  It will sputter and put on a spectacular show.  Return the pan to low heat and stir for another 2 or 3 minutes, or until the sugar has turned reddish brown.  Remove and cool.  The cooled sugar should have a crunchy quality to it.

Put 1 ½ cups of the broken pear tart in a large serving bowl.  Add 1 large scoop of ice cream (about 1cup) to the bowl.  Top the pie and cake with caramelized sugar and sprinkle some raw brown sugar on top, for good measure.