Pear feuillete

Pears in puff pastry is an elegant and good looking dessert. The pears are framed in a puff pastries casings and it is simply gorgeous to look at. They look sophisticated but are in fact really easy to make. First you need to poach the pears, cut them in half, and then put them on top of store bought puff pastry, bake them and they are ready to be served. I actually add a bit of chocolate in the middle of each pear for a little surprise but you definitely can prepare them without the chocolate.

The pears in puff pastry are delicious with a spoon of crème Anglaise or a scoop of Ice Cream. The crème Anglaise should be only serve with the pears only when you are ready to eat if not the puff pastry will get soggy.

I brushed a bit of apricot jam diluted with a bit of water so the top is shinny and more attractive to look at.

For the cake

2 Pears

1 cup granulated sugar

2 cups water

3 tablespoons sweet white wine

1 sheet of puff pastry

1 egg beaten

2 tablespoons of apricot jam

1 tablespoon water

2 pieces of chocolate (optional)

2 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)

For the crème Anglaise

1 cup Milk

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

1 pinch of salt

Peel the pears, leaving the stem intact.

In a sauce pan combine the sugar, water, and wine. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

Add the pears, reduce the heat to low. Simmer the pears until the pears are tender, about 20 minutes.

While the pears are simmering prepare the crème Anglaise. In a bowl, add the sugar and egg yolks together.

Whisk until the egg mixture is pale and a bit foamy. Set aside.

In a sauce pan heat the milk until small bubbles appear along the edges of the pan.

Pour slowly the hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk constantly.

Return the milk-egg mixture to sauce pan and stir constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon.

Keep stirring until the mixture thickens and lightly coats the back of a spoon, about 1 minutes or 2. Do not allow it to boil. Set aside and let it cool down and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Remove from the pan and cut the pears in half.

Remove the core gently without disturbing the stems.

Put the pears on the puff pastry and with a scissor cut out the shape of the pears but leave an extra 3/4 inch border.

Melt the chocolate with heavy cream and fill it inside the cavity of the pears.

Put the pears (with chocolate inside) on top of the puff pastry.

Beat the egg and brush them on top of the puff pastry. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

They are ready to go in the oven for about 20 minutes. Rotate your pan half way through so the puff pastry is evenly golden brown.

Letting the pears cool down a bit before serving. They are best serve at room temperature or warm