Lemongrass Pear Tart

The challenge from Dessert Wars this month was to create a "green" dessert in honor of St Patrick's Day.  There were two lists of green ingredients, one traditional and one not so traditional.  Bakers had to pick an ingredient from each list for their dessert.

This was my first attempt at any sort of tart, and it turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself! ;)
I used a tart pastry recipe from Baked Explorations, filled the crust with a lemongrass custard, topped it with fresh pears, and finished it with some ginger spiced whipped cream.  Even my Dad liked it, and he's not one for strange food combinations so I deem this experiment a success!

For the tart dough
from Baked Explorations
1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 large egg, beaten

Place the sugar, flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.
Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse sand, which will be about 8-10 one-second pulses.  Add the egg and pulse just until the dough begins to form a mass.  Form the dough into a disk, wrap it tightly in plastic and refrigerate it at least an hour or up to overnight.

Dust a work surface with a sprinkling of flour.  Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough about 1/4-inch thick into either a rectangle about 15 inches long or into a round about 12 inches in diameter.  Ever so gently, guide the dough into the tart pan, without pulling it, and lightly press it into place.  Roll the rolling pin over the pan to trim off excess dough.  Transfer the pan to the freezer for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 375.
Line the tart shell with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill it 3/4 full with dried beans or pie weights.  Bake for 15 minutes, carefully remove the foil and the weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until it’s lightly browned.  Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack to cool.

For the custard

from Nick Narin

200ml/7fl oz milk 

200ml/7fl oz cream 

1 stick lemongrass 

2 tbsp caster sugar 

3 free-range egg yolks

Place the milk, cream and lemongrass into a saucepan over a low heat and gently heat until steaming, but not boiling. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for at least ten minutes.
Place the caster sugar and egg yolks into a bowl and whisk together.
Remove the lemongrass from the milk mixture and gradually pour the milk mixture into the bowl of eggs and sugar, whisking constantly.
Return the mixture to a low heat and simmer, stirring continuously, until the custard coats the back of a spoon, then strain into a jug.



Linked to
Sweet Tooth Friday
Sweets for a Saturday 
Melt in Your Mouth Monday