Pear Custard Galette

The recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home To Yours. It is a recipe that can use just about any fruit you have and Dorie suggests a few in her book, including various stone fruits and rhubarb. These in-season Bosc pears held their shape and tasted sweet and delicious. There are no added spices so you really experience the pure taste of the fruit itself, so it's best to use the most flavorful in-season fruit you can find.  The recipe calls for assembling and baking the pear galette for a little while and then pour the custard mixture wherever there is room between pears and bake for a little longer for the custard to set up. Serve the galette while still slightly warm with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche on the side. 




Pear Custard Galette
adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours
serves 6-8

For the galette:
Pie Crust for a single crust (I use half of  this recipe)
2-3 Tablespoons jam or marmalade, ginger marmalade recommended, but you can use any you like
2 graham crackers, crushed
4-6 pears, ripe but firm
1 Tablespoon turbinado or similar coarse sugar

For the custard:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 425 F.   Roll out the dough into a 12-13-inch diameter circle, about 1/8" thick.  Transfer the crust to a baking sheet.  Lightly score a circle in the center with a 10-inch diameter.  You will arrange the filling inside this inner circle.  Spread the jam inside the smaller circle and sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs.  The juicier the fruit you have, the more crumbs you will want to add to absorb the moisture as the fruit cooks.  Place the crust in the refrigerator while you prepare the fruit.  Quarter the pears and remove the peel and core.  Arrange the pears on top of the graham cracker crumbs, cut side down in a circular pattern.  Fold the outer circle of the crust up over the edges of the fruit, making pleats as needed until you have brought all of the outer crust up over the edges of the pears.  Brush the top of the crust lightly with water or cream, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.  Bake the galette for 25 minutes.

While the galette is baking, prepare the custard.  Whisk all of the custard ingredients in a small bowl.  After the galette has baked 25 minutes, remove it from the oven, but leave the oven on.  Carefully pour as much of the custard around the pears that it will hold  (you will probably not use all of the custard mixture - I used about half).  Bake the galette for another 10-15 minutes or until the custard is set and no longer jiggles.  Cool the galette on the baking sheet on a cooling rack for 15 minutes, then transfer the galette to cool directly on the cooling rack.  Serve at warm or at room temperature, preferably the same day it is made, with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.