3/4 500 g pack ready made
-shortcrust pastry
1 md Size egg; yolk and white
; separated
1 Rounded tablespoon semolina
1 720 gram jar baby pears in
-calvados; drained,
-reserving
; the liquor
6 Sugar cubes; crushed (6 to
-8)
Preheat the oven to 200C, 400F, Gas Mark 6.
Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 5mm (1/4 inch) then cut out 10
circles of pastry using a 10cm (4 inch) plain cutter.
Brush each circle in the centre where the pear base will sit with egg yolk,
then sprinkle with semolina. Sit a whole pear on top.
Finally push up the pastry edge around the pear, do not worry how rough and
raggy it looks!Then simply brush with the egg white and sprinkle with the
crushed sugar, repeating the process until all the pears have been used.
Transfer to a lightly greased baking tray, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or
until golden brown and the sugar has started to caramelize. Reduce the
liquor by half in a saucepan over a moderate heat.
Serve immediately with a spoonful of creme fraiche and a drizzling of the
reduced syrup.
Yields
10 servings