September 14 and 15, 2013 was love and romance weekend at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. We played things up a wee bit and make two types of tarts and made a few other dishes too! Keep in mind that these are for two separate tarts (not combined) and you will want to divide up the crust in half to make two separate items. *Dairy free and Vegan substitutions are offered below
Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp granulated white sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces (for a dairy free option, I use clarified bacon fat and for a vegan option I use coco butter)
1/8 to 1/4 cup ice water
Pear Filling:
3 medium pears
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp raw sugar
Raspberry Filling:
2 cups fresh raspberries
2 tbsp granulated white sugar
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp of fresh orange zest
Pear Tart Directions
Directions for the Pears: Core the pears and cut into 1/4 to 1/8-inch slices. In a large bowl toss the pear slices with the lemon juice.
Arrange the pears in a in a sunburst on the crust dough, leaving a 2-inch boarder. Fold the border over the filling. It will only cover the pears partially and does not need to be even. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and raw sugar.
Bake the tart for 15 minutes, and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, keeping the tart in the oven all the while, and bake for another 40 minutes, until the pears are tender and the crust is golden brown.
Raspberry Tart Directions:
Place raspberries stem side down until filled in and sprinkle liberally with the raw sugar and orange zest. Bake at 450 until the raspberries crust is done. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.