Poached Pear Tart With Lemony Cream Filling. Possibly one of the best you will l ever tasted ;)

I made this pear tart for my brother in law to bring to his office pot luck party. He told me that everybody in his office loved it. 

At first, I didn't really want to post the recipe. But, since it was such a hit, I thought it would be nice to share the recipe. That way, they can also make it by them self.

The recipe, though it seems pretty long, it is actually can be made in stages at your convenience time. Poached pears can be made a day in advance, leave it to cool in its own poaching liquid, then refrigerate up to 3 days. The pastry is also versatile. Sometimes, I fit in my tart pan with pastry dough the day before, then blind bake it the following day. By doing so, I also think that the pastry get benefit from its long chill in the fridge, which will minimized shrinkage during baking time. 

Poached Pear Tart with lemony Cream Filling
makes 11-inch tart

1 recipe for Pâte brisée au sucre

3 poached pears
1/4 cup (30 g) sugar
4 tbs (50 g) unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
lemon juice from 1 lemon

1/4 cup (50 g) all-purposed flour

1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt, optional

additional ingredients:
1 egg white, for brushing the pastry
2 tbs granulated sugar
confectioners' sugar for sprinkling, optional

First, make poached pears as the recipe directed, then let it soak in the syrup until cool completely. In the pan. In the mean time, you can start to make the pastry, then keep the pastry in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.

Generously grease an 11-inch removable bottom tart pan with butter.
Roll out the pastry to fit the size of tart pan, transfer into the pan, and trim off the excess. Prick all over with fork, cover with plastic wrap, and place it back in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, or up to a day in advance.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Remove the pastry from refrigerator. Place a piece of parchment paper, or aluminum foil directly on top. Add dried bean, or ceramic pastry beans if you have one, directly on top of paper of foil, then bake in the middle rack for 15 minutes (this is called blind bake). Remove pastry from oven, remove the paper, or foil including the beans. Quickly and lightly brush the pastry with egg white, this process will prevent the pastry from being soggy, and will retain its crunchiness (the technique I learnt from Christine Ferber's book). Return pastry to the oven, continue to bake for another 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool in the pan on a wire rack

Turn the oven up to 400 F. Set the racks in the lower third and upper third of the oven.
Remove pears from its poaching liquid, blot dry with paper towel, and set aside.

Using a hand whisk or large wooden spoon, beat together butter and sugar until pale and creamy, add egg, and vanilla extract, beat  to blend. Mix in lemon zest and lemon juice. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt (if using), add it to the cream mixture, and mix just enough to incorporate the ingredients. Using small spatula, spread the the batter into the bottom and sides of the cooled tart shell. Arrange poached pears over the filling as shown on the finish tart below or above. 

Bake the tart in the lowest rack for 25 to 30 minutes. Take the tart out from the oven, sprinkle with 2 tablespoon granulated sugar, taking care not to sugar the pastry to prevent your pastry from burn. Return the tart to the oven, and place it on the top rack. Continue to bake for another 15 minutes, or until pears starts to caramelized, and the crust is dark browned. Remove the tart from the oven, and transfer it onto cooling rack to cool completely. Using kitchen torch, lightly char the pears, to get that slightly burnt and rustic look on your tart. Right before serving, dust the tart with confectioner's sugar if desire.