Saffron pear tart

For 4 0.5 €/pers. 241 kcal/100g

What is it about fruit cakes that draw our attention so much? With strawberries, apples, mangoes, cherries and more, we don’t make any of them look ugly. The fruit not only adds flavor to the cakes but also gives them an unbeatable juiciness. With the saffron pear tart we increase our repertoire and we do it in a big way because it is delicate, aromatic and very refreshing.

It is a cake that is very easy to prepare, although it involves three preparations that require a little planning: shortcrust pastry for the base, white wine and lemon cream for the filling, and saffron pears to top it off. All of them can be made a couple of days in advance, great for when we are short on time, and when it comes time to serve we just have to assemble and that’s it.

Don’t let having to make shortcrust pastry put you off. The process is very simple and the result cannot be compared with that of the masses sold in supermarkets. So don’t be lazy and put your hands in the dough. You will see what a difference.

We can serve this saffron pear tart with a garnish of vanilla ice cream , chantilly , liquid cream or, why not, a splash of chocolate sauce. We leave this to your discretion. We have eaten it as is and enjoyed it like children.

Preparation of the pears

1. Peel the pears and cook them in a saucepan along with the wine, water, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon stick, saffron, orange peel and the seeds inside the cardamom berries. .
2. Let it cook over low heat until the pears are cooked. Depending on the point of the pears, it will take more or less minutes, so it is best to check by piercing with a skewer or the tip of a knife. We take the opportunity to prepare the base dough in the meantime.

Preparation of the cake base

1. Sift the flour into a large, deep container, add the sugar and a pinch of salt. Add the diced butter and mix with your fingers until you get a texture reminiscent of crumbs.
2. Finally we add the water and work with our fingers, avoiding overdoing it. As soon as all the ingredients are combined, we wrap the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. While the dough rests we continue with the filling.
3. We remove the pears from the saucepan and let them cool. We strain the rest, discarding the chunks, and return the liquid to the saucepan. We beat the three egg yolks and add part of the syrup. Not much, just enough to temper the yolks so they don’t curdle.
4. Pour the mixture into the saucepan, passing it through a sieve and cook over very low heat until it thickens, stirring regularly. We can separate a small amount and dilute a tablespoon of fine corn flour in it to help the cream acquire consistency and thicken more quickly. Once ready, remove from the heat and let it cool before transferring to a bowl and cooling completely in the refrigerator.
5. We finish the base dough that will have rested long enough in the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll it out with a rolling pin to a couple of millimeters thick. We cover the base and walls of a 16 cm diameter mold suitable for oven. We trim the excess and finish the edges with our fingers with some filigree so that it remains presentable.
6. We cover with parchment paper and fill with old legumes or specific balls for baking. We cook in the oven, preheated to 180ºC, for 15 minutes. We remove the weight and the paper and cook again for another 15 minutes before removing and letting it cool completely.

Assembly and final presentation of the saffron pear tart

1. We cut the pears in half, remove the seeds inside. With a sharp knife we ​​laminate, but without reaching the upper end.
2. We remove the cream from the refrigerator and beat a little with a whisk to make it easier to handle. We fill the base with it, using a spatula to spread it well over the entire surface.
3. We decorate with the pears and sprinkle with ground cinnamon and icing sugar when serving.

Follow all the steps of this saffron pear tart recipe in the album. Don’t miss any details so that they turn out perfect.

Tips for a delicious saffron pear tart

• It is important that, when making the base dough, the butter is very cold . If this is not the case and we are in a hurry, but we want to prepare it at home, we can put it in the freezer to speed up the process. We can also buy a sheet of shortcrust pastry at the supermarket and save this step, although the result will not be the same.
• The base dough can be prepared a couple of days in advance and have it baked and ready to fill.
• The orange peel, better without any of the white part (which makes the result bitter). You have to be careful when peeling it, using a very sharp knife or a peeler and trying to make it as thin as possible.
• Any variety of pears can be used, such as San Juan pears if we prepare it in summer. In this case we can leave the stem of the pears and place them whole on the cream filling to give it a different appearance. For those who are not friends with pears, apples are a great alternative. The process is the same.