My Grandmother's Recipe Box

I have been inspired by binging the British Baking Show.  Though this recipe was not in my grandmother's recipe box, I know she would have approved and loved trying this French dessert.  I don't have the exact recipe as I usually search for recipes and then use part of several.  You can find recipes for all of these components so pick your favorites and put them together.  Poach the pears with sugar, cinnamon stick and lemon peel.   (Leaves you with a great simple syrup to make a cocktail with if you are so inclined) Make a sweet short crust and blind bake.   You can buy baking beans or just use regular beans. Slice the pears and fan them out a bit  Make frangipane Fill the tart with frangipane  Place the pears on the tart and bake.  Cover the crust with foil so it doesn't burn.  Share and Enjoy!

I did not find this recipe in my grandmother's box, but I am certain that she made them and even more certain that she loved them though we did always just call them cream puffs.  I looked up all the fancy french recipes for making these and followed one to the T.  I weighed the ingredients to get just right amounts and did everything else that seems to indicate that these are a fussy dessert to make.  I even made my own french pastry cream which called  back memories of a vanilla custard that my grandmother used to make.  Could pastry cream and Mom's vanilla custard be one and the same? They were very good. However, the old recipe that I used make with my mother without the weighing and fussiness was really quite close.  The choux à la crème are pictured but I show below the much simpler "cream puff" recipe.  1 stick butter 1 cup water 1 cup flour pinch of salt 4 eggs Melt one stick of butter in one cup of water and pinch of salt on the stove.  When the butt