Hand Formed Pear and Almond Tartlets
From Gale Gand’s Brunch – Gale Gand, one of Chicago’s Culinary Ambassadors, has produced a unique visitor’s guide to the culinary delights of her home city of Chicago. The exclusive Gand ‘MyChicago’ guide, including downloadable podcast, can be accessed at www.gochicago.com/mychicago/culinary and is perfect for planning a trip to the city.
Makes 4 tarts
1 sheet frozen all butter puff pastry, thawed
2 tablespoons almond paste (canned)
4 teaspoons sour cream (optional)
¼ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2 pears, peeled and cored and cut into 8 wedges
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Divide the sheet of puff pastry into 4 squares. Take 1 ½ teaspoons of almond paste and roll it into a ball then flatten it and place it in the center of the puff pastry. If using, place a teaspoon of sour cream on top of that. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle 1/8 of the cinnamon sugar over the sour cream. Place four pear wedges in the center of the puff pastry, two leaning away from the center one way and two leaning away from the center the other way. Sprinkle with another 1/8 of the cinnamon sugar. Repeat with other puff pastry squares. Using your hands gather the puff pastry up around the pear slices and press it onto the pears to bundle then snuggly in the dough. It won’t look so petty now but will look beautiful once it bakes up and puffs. Bake at 425 degrees till golden brown on the edges, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool before serving.
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