Waking up my dear husband this morning was quite the challenge. I knew I would have to make up for all my harassment with something delicious, so I set about making a fruit danish. There's something so relaxing about peeling and chopping fruit in the morning-it's quiet and the kitchen still smells like fresh coffee. This is really meant to be more of a guideline than a recipe-if you have other fruit you'd like to try, substitute it. If you don't have cream cheese, you can blend 1/2 cup cottage cheese and 1/4 cup sour cream with some powdered sugar (about 1/3 cup, to taste) and vanilla. It won't be as gooey but it still tastes delicious. Any type of jam will work...it's really all up to you. This particular combination worked well and the raspberry jam added the right touch and made the tart especially beautiful.
I particularly love Saturdays and Sundays because I have more energy and time to experiment in the kitchen. While I love my job, the commute and the energy I put into it make me anxious to get something healthy on the table fast on weeknights. Don't worry, I have plenty of those recipes, too! Feeding my husband the last few years has allowed me to amass quite the collection of weeknight dinners made with real food.
Also, bear with me. I'll take better pictures as I get more established. Sometimes we're too hungry to pose food and adjust lighting and make it look professional and perfect (as you'll see below, my tart was not square and tidy by any means).
So here you have it: Apple and Pear Danish
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
1 granny smith apple
1 honeycrisp or other firm red apple
1 pear-not too ripe
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/4-1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg yolks
2 tbls or so sugar (depending on how sweet your fruit is)
1/2 cup raspberry jam
1 tbl butter
Preheat over to 425.
Directions:
Peel and core fruit. Slice into half moons about 1/4 inch thick and place in bath of vinegar and water for a few minutes. Set on paper towels to absorb excess water.
In a food processor, combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and egg yolks. Pulse until smooth. Adjust sweetness to taste (I like it more on the tangy side).
Roll out puff pastry on lightly floured surface gently to adhere seams. Place on a silicone mat or parchment paper set on a baking tray. Make a 1/2 inch border with a paring knife all the way around the tart, scoring it but not cutting through. Using a fork, poke holes throughout the pastry INSIDE the border, leaving the outside of the border untouched (this will allow the edges to puff and create a little box for your filling and fruit as it bakes).
Spread cream cheese mixture over tart, staying inside border. Be generous but don't feel that you have to use all of it! Too much will weigh down the tart and create a mess.
Layer fruit on top of cream cheese, overlapping slices slightly. I was able to make three rows of fruit. Be sure to vary the apples and pears as you go. Sprinkle with sugar.
Heat the raspberry jam over medium heat in a small pot. If it's too thick, add some water, one tablespoon at a time. Strain to remove seeds and baste the tops of the apples with the strained jam.
Bake for 20 minutes. Check at 10 minutes, if you have some moisture that pooled out by your tart, don't despair. I took a paper towel and soaked it up quick and it was fine. This is where patting all your apples dry makes a huge difference.
Remove from oven, brush top of tart with butter. Let rest a few minutes, then slice it up and enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment