This Antiquity Blue Pear Tart Recipe Will Have You Whisk-y-ing Away

Making a whisky cake with Antiqutiy Blue, pears and baking staples is no easy feat and baking one from scratch requires some effort. Starting right from poaching pears to using the liquid from the pears to glaze the finished tart. This pie is best consumed fresh to enjoy the crispiness of the pie crust and the warmth of the filling.

Antiquity Blue Pear Tart Recipe

Ingredients

Poaching the pears:

2 (400-500 gm) cans of pear halves in heavy syrup
2 tbsp Whisky
3 tbsp Sugar
1 ½ tbsp Fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp Pure vanilla extract

Tart dough:

200 gm All-purpose flour
50 gm Granulated sugar
¼ tsp Salt
115 gm Unsalted butter (cold), cut into ½-inch cubes
1 large Egg, beaten

Almond cream filling:

15 gm Unsalted butter, chilled not cold
230 gm Almond paste
2 large Eggs
3 tbsp Cornstarch
2 tbsp Whisky

Pear glaze:

Reserved syrup and reserved “poaching” liquid from pears
1 tsp Antiquity Blue Whisky
¾ tsp Cornstarch

Instructions

Pear poaching:

First off, you'll need to peach the pears. Strain the pears and keep the liquid aside; you only need a small amount and liquid from one can is enough. Store it in the fridge or stow it away for later, covering it.  

Add the whisky sugar, vanilla and lemon juice to a mixing bowl, and mix well. Add the pears with the remaining liquid, give a light mix and cover with a plastic wrap to be refrigerated overnight.

Getting the crust ready: 

The next morning or afternoon, get started with the dough for the crust. Use a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar and salt and mix. Add the butter cubes into this and mix well until the dry mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Make a well in the centre of this semi-dry mixture, crack the egg in and mix the egg into the dough using a fork.

Flour a clean surface, transfer this dough to that surface and start kneading. Add splashes of ice water if the dough is too dry with powdery residue being left behind. 

Wrap the dough disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the fridge, before using it for the best results.

Baking the crust:

Now, to get started on making the crust, firstly preheat your oven to 180°C, after taking out the dough from the fridge.

Sprinkle your clean kitchen space again with flour, and roll out the dough into a 12-inch diameter circle with a 1/4th inch thickness. Lift the crust and manoeuvre it into an 11-inch round pie pan. Press down with your hands gently to set it and using pressure trim off the excess dough off the edges. Pop this into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Using aluminium foil, line the tart shell; fill 2/3rd of it with dried beans or pie weights and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, remove the weights or beans and bake the crust for another 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside to cool and do not turn off the oven.

Almond filling: 

Now on we go to the filling, use a stand or hand mixer and on medium speed cream the butter and almond paste. Stop when it becomes light and fluffy, then add the egg and run the machine again. Change the setting to low once combined and add the cornstarch and whisky. Spread this mixture on the pie crust that was set aside to cool.

Glazing the pie:

Bring out the bowl with the marinating pears; drain the pears and arrange on top of the almond filling. Keep the liquid aside for later. Bake the pie for 40 minutes, the top will turn a delightful golden brown and the almond filling will puff up. Turn off the oven and transfer to a rack for the pie to cool. 

Now, it's time to make the glaze. Add the marinating liquid and the syrup from the pears in a saucepan over medium heat. Boil until reduced to roughly 200 ml or less. Remove from heat, whisk to cool rapidly, and then add the whisky and cornstarch and stir again. Put the pan over medium heat again, bring to a boil, and keep it on for a minute, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and generously apply the glazing to the tart using a brush. Your Antiquity Blue Pear Tart is ready to be served immediately.