Must-Try Bakes with Historic Ojai Pixies

(Gerry Furth-Sides) What can you add to Pixie tangerines that are perfect to eat on their own with their bright orange, easily separated, seedless segments? Even their size that is never over two to three inches in diameter is endearingly size.  We recommend these “must-try” bakes!

We used colorful Flamingo pears, a Bon Rouge-Florelle pear cross, now in season from Chile because it’s now autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Developed in South Africa, they cast a ruby red blush over green/yellow skin coloring, and the juicy sweet white interior fruit has a crisp-firm texture. Flamingo pears are perfect for baking(canning or cooking) because they are so flavorful and firm.

The //localfoodeater.com/celebrate-a-well-rounded-new-year-of-the-ox/

Our Flamingo pear galette has a triple touch of “pixie dust,” both in the grated zest, sugar rind topping and in a layer of frangipane. The Great British Baking Show inspired the layer of frangipane, a creamy spread form of marzipan with a little bit less sugar. The dough scraper also looked “so cool” on the show that we bought one, and it immediately became handy.

Recipe for the Pear Tart with Frangipane Layer

Tips: For a double boiler to melt the butter, we used a pyrex glass mixing bowl over a medium size pot. For the almond flour we tried both Bob’s Red Mill protein powder, (more refined) and we also tried Trader Joe Almond Meal (more rustic since the peels are on the almonds). Be sure to leave one-inch around the fruit once it is on your pie crust, or the fruit juice will seep out! We used the superb Nielsen-Massey Pure Almond Extract. And yes! Peeling fresh ginger with the back of a spoon works!

• 1/4 cup softened Unsalted Butter
• 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
• 3/4 cup almond flour – we tried almond meal; you can use
• 1 Tbsp white all purpose flour
• 2 Eggs large eggs
• 1/8 tsp Almond Extract (we used Massey)
• 2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced thin
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tablespoon ginger
• 4 tsp Unsalted Butter melted and divided into 4 parts

Instructions

• Line baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
• In large bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in almond meal and white flour. Beat in 1 egg and almond extract; set aside.
• Mix almond meal and flour into the mix. Refrigerate for one hour.
• Roll out dough to about 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Place into a tart pan.
• Place frangipane layer over the crust. 
• Place pear slices, overlapping each other, onto the crust in the middle with one-inch around the edge.
• Fold tart dough edges over the middle. 
• Brush pastry edge with beaten egg. Sprinkle granulated sugar and cinnamon over the top. Brush 1 tsp of the melted butter on top of each galette.
• Bake at 375°F for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Dried, sugared pixie rinds add a springy touch to the pear fruit tart. For this we made a simple syrup of half water and half sugar, then dried them on baking sheet over night. The light, airy and springy pixie rinds and the ginger added a spark of color, texture and taste.

We love dried tart cherries right from the bag or on a cheeseboards so much we almost overlooked them for a sweet-tart bake.  (for our sour cherry post, please see //localfoodeater.com/tag/montmorency-cherries/).   For our story on the butterscotch pear, please see: //localfoodeater.com/celebrate-a-well-rounded-new-year-of-the-ox/

Celebrate A “Well-Rounded” New Year of the Ox