Tuesday, October 12, 2010

TWD: Fold-Over Pear Torte

Pears.

I guess you either love them or hate them. Reading the P&Q comments, it would appear that many of the TWD bakers hate them.

I, on the other hand, LOVE them. Always have. There is nothing better than a fresh pear at its peak of perfection.

However, my offspring doesn't share my affection for pears. It's a texture thing, she says. I give her credit, though. She did take one bit of this torte, unasked. But, that was it.



Now, I'm a patient person most of the time.

However, on a Frustration Scale of 1 to 10, this torte was a 15. Maybe a 20. All because of the crust.


Sure. Just try to fit a flat disc of pie dough into an 8-inch wide, 3-inch deep springform pan.

The sides kept flopping onto the bottom. The instructions said, turn the pan on its side to make it easier to insert crust.

Easier? No. The top side would flop down over the bottom side, even as I rotated the pan.

Resisting the urge to crumple the dough into a solid ball and fling it across the room, I hooked the longer side pieces over the edge of the pan, then quickly shoved it into the refrigerator to harden.



While the crust was chilling, I prepared the filling and the custard, followed by Frustrating Experience No. 2.

The instructions said to gently push the edges of the crust away from the sides of the pan, but Don't let it fall into the custard. Say again? Did the pie crust read and understand those instructions?



Nope.

Enough of this silliness. Into the oven with you!




Call it rustic charm. It may not have looked beautiful, but it sure did taste delicious. Especially with powdered sugar on top to cleverly cover up the knife hole. Sort of.



To be truthful, it tasted great. The creamy custard layer played against the texture of the fruit and nut layer. And the pie crust. . . . I'm a sucker for my pie crust. It's probably my favorite part.




So that I wouldn't be tempted, I gave half of the torte to my dear neighbor, who told me that it disappeared very quickly. My half did, too.





Thanks to Gaye (Cakelaw) of
Laws of the Kitchen for choosing a delicious, if not challenging, dessert. You'll find the recipe on her blog.


And, you'll find more variations and comments from the other bakers on the Tuesdays with Dorie website.

11 comments:

natalia said...

I have to give away my torte too it's too good ! I do not think it's bad ...

Cakelaw said...

Your torte look great Judy! I have to confess that I had my moments with getting that crust to fit nto the pan - it tore, it cracked, it broke, and I had to patch it like mad and hope for the best. Thanks for baking along with me this week!

Pamela said...

Frustrating experience aside, it sounds delicious! Lucky neighbor you have!

Mary said...

I didn't have enough crust to cause me any trouble, but then my torte is less than half the height of yours. It was good, though. Yours looks amazing, and I always keep icing sugar on hand for strategic dusting!
:)

Flourchild said...

My crust sucked this time, but I enjoyed the torte. I love your filling, it looks so good!

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

You're funny. I'm sorry the crust was so troublesome. I would have been very frustrated too, but in the end, I think your tart looks fantastic! My kids LOVE pears - all of them. If I buy a bag, they're gone in a day. Funny how they're all so different.

:)
ButterYum

Kayte said...

LOL on the crust drama...who would know from looking at it?? Not me. The crust did fall into my custard as well. I figured it was meant to do that, how could one keep it from doing so...could not figure that one out either. How did you get that custard to sit on top of the fruit like that? I saw a couple others like that and wondered how that happened. Puzzling. Well, anyway, it looks great and it sure did taste great, too.

Tammy said...

I dont love pears but for some reason I loved this torte. YOurs actually looks just as I imagined the torte should look!

TeaLady said...

OMW yes, the crust was a pain, but it tasted really good when all was said and done. don't think I will do it THIS way again, but I did like the fruit and custard...

Nancy/n.o.e said...

I just love your custard layer! It would be worth the (fair amount of) trouble to bake this again if I thought I could get a wonderful layer of baked custard like yours!

Brittany said...

Judy,

I love your tall torte! Thanks for sharing the pear love! Check out our website for ripening pears and recipe ins-pear-ation at www.usapears.org. Our tricks and tips can help convince your daughter that pears are a sweet treat!

Happy baking!
Your friends at USA Pears