Bon Appetit Desserts (73 page)

Pear and Medjool Date Croustade

“King of Dates” and “Diamond of Dates” are just two of the nicknames for the Medjool date. Both are fitting for this large, rich, moist date that was once reserved for Moroccan royalty. Here, the dates are paired with pears and spices in a rustic, comforting dessert with an exotic flare. Raw sugar is available at most supermarkets and at natural foods stores.
8 servings

1⅓ cups unbleached all purpose flour

½ cup powdered sugar

⅓ cup cornmeal

¾ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 chilled large egg, beaten to blend, divided

2 pounds (about 3 large) ripe Anjou pears, peeled, cored, each cut into 8 wedges

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

7 large Medjool dates, pitted, torn into ¼- to ½-inch-wide strips

1½ teaspoons raw sugar

CRUST:
Blend flour, powdered sugar, cornmeal, and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add all but 2 tablespoons egg (reserved for glaze); using on/off turns, process until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 30 minutes.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes to soften slightly before rolling out.

FILLING:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Toss pear wedges with sugar, flour, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves in large bowl. Roll out dough disk between 2 sheets of lightly floured parchment paper, lifting parchment and replacing it occasionally if paper wrinkles, to form 13- to 14-inch round. Slide crust with parchment onto rimless baking sheet; remove top layer of parchment. Arrange ⅔ of pear mixture over crust, leaving about 2-inch plain border. Arrange date strips amongst pears. Top with remaining pear slices. Using parchment as aid, fold edges of crust up over pear mixture, creating border. Brush crust edge with some of remaining egg and sprinkle crust with raw sugar.

Bake until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles thickly in center, about 1 hour. Cool until warm. Using 10-inch-diameter bottom of tart pan as aid, slide croustade onto serving platter.

Honey-Roasted Peach Croustade with Almonds and Honey-Sweetened Greek Yogurt

This rustic tart is rich with flavor: The peaches are roasted prior to topping the crust, and the almonds are chopped and rolled into the surface of the dough so that they become toasted to their fragrant and colorful best while baking. Thick, honey-sweetened Greek-style yogurt is a great alternative to vanilla ice cream. Greek-style yogurt can be found at some supermarkets and at Trader Joe’s and other specialty foods stores. If unavailable, use regular plain yogurt. The topping will be thinner, but just as tasty.
8 servings

1½ pounds small ripe yellow peaches (about 6), unpeeled, quartered, pitted

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar

⅔ cup slivered almonds

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons honey

1½ cups plain Greek-style yogurt

3 tablespoons honey

PEACHES:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line heavy large baking sheet with foil. Arrange peaches, skin side down, on foil. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with brown sugar. Roast peaches until just tender and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. Using offset spatula, turn peaches and continue roasting until fruit is very tender and honey begins to turn dark brown on edges of pan, about 12 minutes longer. Cool peaches on foil-lined sheet.

CRUST:
Using on/off turns, coarsely chop almonds in processor. Transfer nuts to bowl (do not wash processor). Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drop egg yolk through feed tube; using on/off turns, blend just until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and freeze 30 minutes.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes to soften slightly before rolling out.

Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 375°F. Roll out dough disk between 2 floured sheets of parchment paper to 10-inch round, sprinkling with additional flour as necessary. Remove top sheet of parchment. Sprinkle dough evenly with ½ cup chopped almonds. Replace parchment atop crust and roll to 11-inch round, embedding nuts into dough. Invert crust and parchment onto heavy baking sheet, nut side down. Remove top sheet of parchment. Arrange peaches over center of crust in concentric circles, alternating skin side up and skin side down and leaving 1½ to 2-inch plain border. Using parchment as aid, fold outer edge of crust over edges of peaches. Drizzle peaches with honey. Sprinkle with remaining chopped almonds.

Bake until crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool 20 minutes. Slide metal spatula under croustade to loosen from parchment. Using tart pan bottom from 11-inch-diameter tart pan as aid, carefully transfer croustade to platter.

HONEY YOGURT:
Mix yogurt and honey in small bowl to blend.

Cut croustade into wedges and serve warm, passing honey yogurt separately.

Dark Chocolate and Pine Nut Crostata

Although a crostata is generally a rustic free-form tart, here the Italian moniker is used to suggest the dessert’s thin crispness. Honey enhances the deep chocolate filling of this rich candy-bar-like tart. Look for 70% cacao chocolate at specialty foods stores, where it is sometimes called extra-bitter chocolate.
8 servings

1⅔ cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, room temperature

2 large egg yolks

1 large egg

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao), chopped

2 cups heavy whipping cream

¼ cup honey

¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

Lightly sweetened whipped cream

CRUST
: Blend flour, powdered sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter, egg yolks, and whole egg. Using on/off turns, blend until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes to soften slightly before rolling out.

Roll out dough disk on lightly floured surface to 14-inch round. Transfer to 10-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Press onto bottom and up sides of pan. Cut off all but ½-inch dough overhang. Fold overhang in, pressing to form double-thick sides extending ¼ inch above rim. Chill crust 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake crust 5 minutes. Using back of fork, press crust up sides of pan if slipping. Bake until golden, pressing up sides and piercing with fork if crust bubbles, about 25 minutes longer. Cool crust completely.

FILLING
: Place chocolate in medium bowl. Bring cream to simmer in saucepan. Pour cream over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Whisk in honey. Pour filling into crust. Chill until set, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Sprinkle tart with pine nuts. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Tarte Tatin

This classic dessert was created by the Tatin sisters of France’s Loire Valley. Legend has it that in trying to repair a baking error, they ended up with the renowned upside-down tart. A tarte Tatin is sometimes made with puff pastry; this version has a rich buttery crust that’s easy to make. Red Delicious apples are a good choice here, because they hold their shape when cooked for long periods of time.
8 servings

1½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

2 large chilled egg yolks

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter