Pear and Fig Pie with Hazelnut Crust

With Thanksgiving, came the opportunity to attempt making a new dessert.  I wanted to make something that featured seasonal fruits.  Pears are something I've been thinking about working with for a while now, so I started flipping through my cook books and magazines in search of a dessert that featured pears and found a pie recipe with pears and figs in the starring roles...score!   

The recipe also calls for a hazelnut crust.  Making a pie crust dough would be a first for me and I've heard numerous stories about how finicky pie crusts can be.  Plus, I knew that I would not have time to test out the recipe before Thanksgiving.  So, naturally, a list of concerns started growing in my head...over baked crust, soggy crust, overly sweet filling, unbalanced flavors...and the list goes on.  Luckily, the cook book (Bon Appétit Desserts: The Cook Book for All Things Sweet and Wonderful) that the recipe is from also included a troubleshooting guide for pies.  With this guide to ease some of my concerns and Bon Appétit's reputation for delicious recipes, I dove right into the pie making. 

Surprisingly, the preparation and process was fairly simple, resulting in a great tasting pie.  I thought the crust could have been stronger in flavor, but it browned nicely and had a crisp exterior while maintaining a flaky, tender interior.  Visions of the dough tearing and sticking were running through my mind, but it turned out to be much easier to roll out than anticipated.  Not a single tear, but there were a couple of spots that lightly stuck to my rolling surface.  The crust on its own had a great nutty flavor.  Unfortunately, it was so weak in flavor, that it was overpowered and masked by the filling's combination of pears, figs, lemon juice, and lemon zest.  Next time, I think I'll do some research to see how I can boost the hazelnut flavor without compromising the texture of the crust.  See the recipe after the pics  :)

Crust:

½ cup hazelnuts (toasted, husked, and cooled)

4 ½ teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes

4 tablespoons (or more) ice water

1.   Finely grind nuts, sugar and salt in processor.

2.   Blend in flour.

3.   Add butter, using on/off turns.  Cut in until butter is reduced to rice-sized pieces.

4.   Blend in 4 tablespoons of ice water.  Add in more ice water by teaspoonfuls until dough comes together in moist clumps.

5.   Gather dough into a ball and divide in half.

6.   Flatten each half into disks.  Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 45 minutes

**Crust can be made 1 day ahead, but keep it chilled.  Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.

Filling:

1 cup dried black Mission figs (stemmed and quartered)

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

2 ¼ lbs pears (peeled, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced)

1.   Preheat oven to 400°F.

2.   Combine figs, sugar, flour, lemon juice, and lemon peel in a large bowl.

3.   Add pears to fig mixture and toss to blend.

4.   Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round.

5.   Transfer to 9-inch diameter glass pie dish

6.   Fill crust with pear mixture.

7.   Roll out another 12-inch round with the second dough disk.

8.   Place on top of filled pie and trim crust overhang to ½-inch.

9.   Press the top and bottom crust together and fold under.

10. Crimp crust edge decoratively.

11. Cut several slits in top crust to allow steam to escape during baking.

12. Bake for 20 minutes

13. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

14. Continue to bake until juices bubble thickly through slits and crust is golden (about 50 minutes).

15. Cool pie on rack for 45 minutes.

16. Serve warm or at room temperature.

My Notes:  I found the quartered figs to be too large and overpowering in flavor.  Try cutting them into sixths or eighths.  Also, be sure to let the pie cool as directed, or longer.  This will allow the filling to set.  Otherwise, you may end up with a filling that will ooze all over the plate, or the slice may fall apart as you are plating.

Bakery Nouveau

Bakery Nouveau is another local bakery that specializes in French pastries and baked goods.  Located in the West Seattle neighborhood, Nouveau offers many of the same items as Honoré Artisan Bakery.  Much of what I could find online about Nouveau compares it to other french bakeries in Seattle, such as Honoré and Café Besalu.  So, of course, I used that as an excuse to venture out to West Seattle to do my own comparison :p

With it's warm colors, wood paneling and mood lighting, Nouveau seems to be a great, cozy spot to enjoy a cup of coffee and a sweet treat.  However, after waiting in line for a few minutes, I began to realize that things weren't what they seemed.  It was actually a bit chaotic...almost like a beehive.  Behind the counter are employees scrambling back and forth, filling orders.  Meanwhile, the customers are trying to keep up with the employees as they yell out more items to add to their order.   This store might be a bit too busy for its own good.  Either that, or they could use some restructuring of the way customers are assisted and how they line up.  They're also hindered in that they only have one espresso machine.  So, many customers are subjected to two waits-- one for the pastries, and the other, for their caffeine fix.  These long waits led to people pooling around the espresso machine and grabbing other people's drinks in error.

Personally, I had a couple of things go wrong.  First, we were charged for an extra item.  This was immediately corrected after we brought it to their attention.  Plus, we ordered quite a few items, so it greatly increased the chance that we would not be rung up correctly.  The second mishap was on our drink order.  We ordered an iced Chai and a drip coffee.  The Chai was ready shortly after we paid for our items.  The drip coffee, on the other hand, never made its way out.  Apparently, they ran out of drip, but we were not informed until we approached them about our missing drink.  As a substitute, they made us an Americano.

Overall, the drinks were average and the pastries tended to be on the sweeter side.  I think I'll have to give them another try on a less busy day.  I'll most likely get their baked breads, which I have now learned are what they are better known for.  For now, the upper hand goes to Honoré and Besalu.

Macarons (from top to bottom): Passion Fruit, Blood Orange, Salted Caramel

Twice-baked Hazelnut Croissant

Cherry and Pistachio Cake

Sweets of Seasons Past

Here are some of the desserts and sweets that I have made in the past.  In the future, I hope to do individual posts for the things that I cook.








Cranberry Rice Krispies Tuxedo Chocolate Bars

Cranberry Rice Krispies Tuxedo Chocolate Bars:  I made these for an office holiday cookies & sweets exchange that I organized last year.  They received a lot of praise, but I think I should have served them at a warmer temperature so that it would have been easier to bite through.  A co-worker packed some to take home and told me it goes great with a cup of coffee.

  



Banana Cream Pie with Hazelnut Whipped Cream and Hazelnut Brittle

Banana Cream Pie with Hazelnut Whipped Cream and Hazelnut Brittle:  I've made this several times now as it has become a favorite among my friends  :)  The first time I made this, it was with a vanilla wafer crust.  I thought the crust was a bit plain, so since then I have been using a graham cracker crust.  Unfortunately, I have yet to perfect the graham cracker crust...I've had it come out with too strong of a cinnamon taste, too hard, or too soggy.  I've been able to adjust the flavor of the crust, but now I need to work on the texture and firmness.

Cornflake Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cornflake Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies:  Another favorite and highly requested item.  This cookie has been said to be 'like crack.'  I'm not sure why, but that makes me smile every time.  I think this cookie is a perfect balance of sweet and salty with a great buttery, caramel flavor.  Definitely my absolute favorite cookie.  I first had this in New York City at Milk Bar, a part of David Chang's Momofuku empire.  After having a freshly baked one in NYC, I knew I had to try making this for myself.  So, I went on the hunt and found a copycat recipe online.  I eventually found one with the help of a friend from high school, who also knew of the cookie.  I made some adjustments to the recipe over time, until the flavor brought me back to walking around the city with a cookie in my hand.  Now, I can make my own 'crack'  :p






Lemongrass Bars with Toasted Coconut Shortbread Crust

Lemongrass Bars with Toasted Coconut Shortbread Crust:  A treat with some great hidden flavors!  Most people see this and think it's just a lemon bar; but when they bite into it, they're surprised by a hint of a mystery flavor that they just can't seem to put a finger on-- the lemongrass.  The toasted coconut shortbread also compliments the lemongrass flavor really well.  My first attempt at making this failed on the lemongrass flavor as it was masked by all of the lemon juice.  Since then, I have adjusted the recipe to include more lemongrass.  The only thing that I need to work on is the white, foamy crust that forms on top of the bars.  I've been able to cover up this flaw by dusting some powdered sugar over the tops, but I think this can easily be remedied by straining the mixture before pouring it into my baking pan.









Toasted Coconut and Almond Toffee Chews

Toasted Coconut and Almond Toffee Chews:  I made these as a little welcome home treat, and surprisingly, the recipe does not call for too many ingredients.  I actually just looked up a recipe in one of my cookbooks that called for ingredients that I already had.  I ended up finding a recipe that allowed me to use up my leftover shredded coconut and almond slices.  Baking and pastries can become a bit of an expensive hobby, especially with the prices of things like spices, fruits, and dairy products.  So, I love it when I can cook something without having to go out and buy ingredients or tools.