Robert Wemischner

Yield: 8 servings

When peeled, cored, sliced thinly and then stacked with a layer of buttery quick-to-make puff pastry as a base, Korean pears bake to a pleasant tenderness while retaining all of their juicy personality. Dramatic enough to be appropriate for any holiday gathering but simple enough to assemble in advance (and bake just before serving), these tartes would end any festive meal on a mellow, but not too sweet, note. For easy removal, the tartes are best baked in individual silicone molds, each measuring 3 inches in diameter by 1-1/2 inches deep. But if you’d like, you can use one large mold, measuring 10-12 inches in diameter by 2 inches deep.

Make the pastry first. (You should have some leftover pastry dough. Not to worry. It works beautifully for making cinnamon sugar twists, if desired (cut the dough into strips, sprinkle lightly with cinnamon sugar and twist or simply bake the dough in any shaped or sized pieces and sprinkle with a mixture of sugar and ground cinnamon just before they come out of the oven).

While the dough is chilling, prepare the fruit and the caramel and you’re ready to assemble.

 For the quick puff pastry:

Scant 2 c. (8 ounces) all purpose flour

Generous pinch of salt

1/2 lb. (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter

1/2 c. (4 ounces) ice water

In a large bowl, place the flour and salt. Mix to distribute the salt evenly throughout the mixture.  Cut the butter into large pieces, each measuring roughly 1 inch x 2 inches by 1/2 inch thick. Mix to coat the butter chunks with the flour. Add the ice water all at once and quickly stir the mixture to distribute the water evenly throughout.  Using a dough scraper, remove the dough to a lightly floured surface.  (The dough will look as if it will never come together. That’s OK). Then using a rolling pin (I like the tapered ones without handles), gently pat the dough to compress into a rough shaggy rectangle about 1/2 inch thick, with the short side facing you. At this stage, your goal is to flatten the butter into thin large flakes which lead to a puffed airy dough with wonderfully buttery flavor.

Now mentally divide the rectangle into three equal parts. Using the pastry scraper lift the top third of the dough and fold it down over the middle third. Then using the pastry scraper, lift the bottom third and fold it up over this this rough two layered dough. Now turn the dough packet 90 degrees so that the closed side of the dough is on the right as you look at the dough. Repeat the flattening, rolling and folding processes again, using the pastry scraper to be sure that the dough is not sticking to the work surface. Wrap the dough well and place into the refrigerator for approximately 30-45 minutes, or until well chilled. Remove from the refrigerator and then place the dough packet on a lightly floured surface and then with the short side of the dough facing you, roll the dough again into a rectangle, this time about 1/3 inch thick, checking frequently to be sure that none of the dough is sticking to the work surface. (If, at any time during rolling and folding the dough, the butter shows signs of softening, return it to the refrigerator to firm up before proceeding with the rolling and folding process). Once the dough is rolled to this thickness, place it on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan and return it to the refrigerator for about 30 to 45 minutes, or until the dough is firm and well chilled. Once chilled, using a cookie cutter measuring 4 inches in diameter, cut the dough into 8 rounds. Refrigerate the rounds and any leftover dough while you prepare the fruit.

For the fruit: 

3 large Korean pears, peeled and cored

Using a sharp knife or a mandoline, slice the fruit into rounds, each measuring 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Set aside while you make the caramel.

Note: When making caramel, be extremely careful to avoid spattering any of the molten hot liquid onto any part of your body.  Use well-fitting heatproof gloves when handling the pan and pouring the hot mixture into the mold or molds in which you will be baking the tart(s). 

Before making the caramel, coat the inside of the molds with the softened butter, about 1 T. for each

For the Caramel:

4 ounces softened unsalted butter to coat the molds in which the tarts are to be baked (Use about 1 T. or 1/2 ounce for each mold, or use all of it for the single large mold

2 fresh and flexible vanilla beans or 1 T. vanilla bean paste (available at specialty food stores and online at www.culinarydistrict.com)

If using whole vanilla beans, split lengthwise and scrape out the fragrant tiny black specks of vanilla bean and reserve. (Use the scraped vanilla beans to flavor granulated sugar by burying them in a container or bag of sugar, tightly closed.) Combine these specks (or commercially made vanilla bean paste) with the softened butter and coat the tarte molds with this mixture.

1 c. (7 ounces) granulated sugar

Place the sugar in a heavy saucepan, and over medium high heat, cook until it starts to brown. Stir occasionally with a heatproof silicone spatula to break up any lumps that may form. When golden amber in color, remove the caramel from the heat and immediately pour an equal amount of  it into each of the prepared molds (or single mold, if you choose to make one large tarte instead of individual servings).

To assemble the tartes:

4 ounces dried Zante currants, soaked briefly in hot water to rehydrate, drained and then dried

Stack the fruit evenly and tightly into the molds (or mold), fill the centers of each stack with an equal amount of dried currants and top the fruit with the prepared pastry rounds (or one large round) if you are using a single large mold. You can bake the tartes (or tarte) immediately or place  in the refrigerator ready to bake about one hour before serving if you wish to serve the dessert warm or hot from the oven. 

To bake the tartes (or tarte):

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and be sure that an oven rack is set halfway up from the bottom of the oven, if possible.  When ready to bake, place the tartes set onto a half sheet sized baking pan (to catch any drippings)  in the oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until the dough is well browned and puffed.  Remove from the oven and allow to sit for a few minutes before inverting the plaque of molds onto a cooling rack set over a baking pan with sides.

Then using a wide spatula, transfer each of the tartes to a serving plate. Serve with rich vanilla ice cream, if desired.