pear tarts

Did I ever mention that I love autumn with the early morning fog and the warming rays of the sun in the afternoon? I love the light and the smell of this season and the big variation of wonderful and delicious vegetables and fruits. For a dinner with friends I made these mini tarts with pears, but they can be made with apples or fresh figs as well and they taste delicious served with some whipped cream or homemade ice cream.

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For 6 little pear tarts:

• 1 rectangle puff pastry sheet
• 3 small pears
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 vanilla bean
• 4 dl water
• 150 g sugar

Bring the water, the sugar, the vanilla seeds and the bean to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. 

Peel the pears, cut them into quarters, rub  the quarters all over with lemon juice, then add the pears to the simmering water and cook for about 5 minutes.

Remove pears from the syrup and allow to cool a little, then remove the cores of the pears from the centers. Cut each quarter lengthwise into 3 or 4 slices, like a fan.

Fold one half of the pastry over the other and cut out 6 circles, the circles should be slightly larger than the size of the pears.

Like a fan top the pears on the pastry and brush the pears gently with the remaining syrup.

Heat the oven to 190° degrees and bake the tarts for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove the tarts from the oven and serve them warm with some whipped cream or ice cream.

Happy baking!