No More Mr. Nice Pie
  • About
  • Blog
  • Pies About Town
  • Pie-Ku
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index

Recipes

HOLIDAY PEAR PIE WITH COGNAC-SPIKED CHERRIES

12/23/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
(inspired by an onslaught of Harry and David pears)
 
makes one 9” pie 
 
Classic Pâte Brisée:
 
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
8 oz. (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
⅓ - ½ cup ice cold water
 
Combine flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Using a bench scraper, cut in the cold butter pieces until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle in ⅓ cup ice cold water using your fingertips to distribute the liquid. The dough should hold together; if it feels dry, add just enough of the remaining ice water until the dough holds together when pinched. Divide the dough in half, gently flatten into two discs. Wrap in plastic wrap for at least one hour before rolling out. On a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out one disc of dough to a circle about 12” in diameter. Gently fit the dough into a 9” pie plate. Fold the edges under and crimp decoratively. Return the bottom crust to the refrigerator. Roll out the second disc of dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper. The top crust can be cut into lattice strips or cut into holiday shapes with cookie cutters. (NOTE: Cut-outs tend to keep their shape when they have been chilled before baking. I prefer to cut the shapes out ahead of time, set them on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate them for several hours, or overnight before using them to cover the fruit filling.) Return the top crust (lattice or cut outs) to the refrigerator.
 
Pear-Cognac spiked Cherry filling: (inspired by Kate Lebo)
 
Prepare the cherries first-
 
(You can use frozen cherries but you will need to thaw and drain them first, otherwise you will dilute the Cognac)
 
1½ cups fresh cherries, rinsed, stemmed and pitted or frozen cherries that have been thawed and well drained
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup Cognac
¼ teaspoon cardamom
 
Place the cherries, brown sugar, Cognac and cardamom in a glass jar. Stir to combine, cover and let sit for at least 3 hours or better still, overnight.
5 cups of pears, from 3-4 peeled, cored Bartlett or Royal Riviera pears sliced ⅛” thick (pears should be flavorful but not overly ripe)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
½ cup granulated sugar (taste the pears, if very sweet, you may want to use a tablespoon or two less sugar)
⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
⅛ teaspoon vanilla bean powder or ¼ of a vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped with the tip of a paring knife
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
 
egg wash made from one egg yolk beaten with two tablespoons of milk or heavy cream
 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the pears and the lemon juice. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cardamom, vanilla bean powder or scrapings, salt and cornstarch. Add the cherries to the pears then add the sugar/spices/cornstarch. Turn to coat with a rubber spatula. Retrieve the bottom crust from the refrigerator and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Use a slotted spoon to pour the filling into the bottom crust reserving some of the liquid. (The combination of macerated cherries, ripe pears and sugar gives off an abundance of liquid. I like to reserve a few tablespoons of the liquid so the filling is a bit more sliceable.) Top with either a lattice crust or pastry cut outs. Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash. Cover the edges of the pie with strips of aluminum foil. Place the pie on the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and move the pie to the middle rack of the oven. Bake for an additional 45-50 minutes, removing the foil strips the last 15 minutes of baking. The fruit should bubble around the edges and in the center of the pie, the crust should be golden. Remove to a rack to cool completely before slicing. Refrigerate any leftovers.
 
 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2025
    January 2025
    July 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    September 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    RSS Feed

Artwork by Retsu Takahashi
© Ellen Gray All Rights Reserved 2014
  • About
  • Blog
  • Pies About Town
  • Pie-Ku
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index