Pear Tartlets

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp Amoretti® Vanilla Madagascar Bourbon W.S. 20 fold
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• ¼ cup milk
• ¼ stick of butter
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp Amoretti® Pear Compound

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 6 tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 stick cold and cubed butter
• 2 eggs

Directions

1. Have a small sheet pan and plastic wrap ready.
2. Heat milk, Amoretti Vanilla, and sugar to simmering.
3. Combine yolks, sugar, cornstarch and milk, mixing until fully combined.
4. Remove hot milk from heat, temper into the egg mixture, then add the rest and whisk until smooth.
5. Return mixture to low heat and whisk constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and add butter, mixing until fully combined.
7. Add the Amoretti Pear Compound.
8. Pour pastry cream onto sheet pan and cover with plastic, making sure the plastic wrap is touching the pastry cream. This will prevent a skin from forming.
9. Chill for 4 hours or overnight.

10. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in mixing bowl.
11. Add cold, cubed butter and mix with paddle attachment until dough has pea-sized bits of butter in it.
12. Add eggs one at a time, and mix until a dough is formed.
13. Wrap and chill dough for at least an hour or overnight.
14. Roll dough out to about a ⅛" thickness and cut circles according to the size tart shell you want to make. (Cut the circles about ¼" larger than your tart shell form.)
15. Drop the dough circles into the tart shell forms and push dough down, shaping with your fingers as you go. If there is dough hanging out of the form, trim the excess with a knife so it is even on top.
16. Chill the shells for about 30 minutes before baking.
17. Blind bake" the tart shells in a 325°F oven, using coffee filters and pie weights, rice or beans. Bake just until shells begin to brown, about 10-15 min.
18. Remove from oven, remove weights and filter and if the shells are white in the center, return them to the oven, without filters and weights, and bake a few minutes until lightly golden.
19. Once cooled, fill the shells with the pear flavored pastry cream and top with sliced pears and garnish of your choice.