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Sunday, June 17, 2012

Warm Pear Charlotte

Banana Split Charlotte. See also File:Banana S...
Banana Split Charlotte. See also File:Banana Split Charlotte, No Cookie.jpg. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
By Juvy S. Iliwiliw




Charlottes are molded desserts, served warm or cold. A standard charlotte mold is a pail-like tin with heart shape handles, but a souffle dish or ramekin (for single servings) may also be used. The classic warm charlotte, lined with bread  and filled with apples and custard, is transformed here into a pear dessert with a lighter filling.

If you have tasted apples and custard charlottes, this will be your chance to differentiate the taste from pear charlotte. But for me, each has a distinct taste that can't be compared. Let you taste buds decide but before this goes to an argument, let's start making pear charlotte on the kitchen table.




WARM PEAR CHARLOTTE


You will need:


6-8 slices good-quality white bread or brioche, crusts removed

4-6 tablespoons (2-3 oz/60-90 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the filling:

2-3 cup (5 oz/155 g) sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 pinch salt

4-5 ripe Anjou pears, peeled, halved, cored, and
very thinly sliced (about 5 cups/1 1/4 lb/625 g)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Heavy (double) cream and/or good-quality prepared caramel sauce for serving


Here's how:


Place an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Have ready a 4-cup (1-qt/1-1) souffle dish.

Generously butter the bread slices on one side. Cut all but 2 of the slices into pieces about 1 1/2 by 3 inches (4-cm by 7.5 cm). Each piece should be no taller than the souffle dish. Use the pieces to line the sides of the souffle dish, placing them with the buttered side facing the dish and overlapping them by 1/2 inch (12 mm). Trim the remaining 2 bread slices into small triangles and overlap them on the bottom of the dish. Set aside.

To make the filling, in a small bowl, stir together the sugar, lemon zest, nutmeg, and salt. Place the pear slices in a large bowl, sprinkle with the sugar mixture, and toss to distribute evenly.

In a large frying pan over high heat, melt the butter. Add the pear mixture and cook, stirring gently with a wooden spoon, until the pears release their liquid and become tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool briefly. Scrape the pear mixture into the bread-lined dish. (The filling can be piled higher than the bread, as it will shrink a little during baking.)

Bake the charlotte until the bread slices are golden, the pears are tender when poked with a skewer or small paring knife, and the juices are bubbling slowly around the edge, about 1 hour. Let cool in the dish on a rack for about 25 minutes.

With a small serrated knife, trim off any toasted bread edges that come above the rim. Run a table knife around the inside edge of the dish to release the bread, invert a platter on top of the dish, and then invert the dish and platter together. Lift off the dish. Serve the charlotte warm with the cream and/or caramel sauce drizzled on top.
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