Pear Custard Pie
Okay, well, sorry, WordPress is being super unresponsive, so these pictures are all you’re getting. I will post the rest on IG later, because if I keep trying here this post will never happen!
This is the yummy pear custard pie I have now made twice. It’s really perfect and I highly recommend it! I made it with almond which is the perfect accompaniment to the delicate pear flavor.
And it’s more like frangipane — almost a custardy cake, rather than a true custard. In other words, not eggy or runny at all. I love the texture of it.
Yes, there are a few extra steps to this pie, but the result is well worth it in terms of the perfect melding of tastes and a company-worthy presentation.
This is the view in my garage fridge:
Beautifully formed pears from our trees (that I do nothing to other than the chickens did range around them, and maybe that helped with pests?). What a gift this year!
They keep in there because I picked them in an unripe stage, which is what you have to do to keep them and avoid the dreaded mushy brown core. This sort (I don’t really know exactly what variety they are) look green but have a yellow blush and are really perfectly ripe just like this, once they have sat on the counter long enough to warm up.
I recommend using pears that are not soft-ripe for this recipe.
Pear Custard Pie Like Mother, Like Daughter
One pie crust, unbaked (I use the standard American pie crust found in Betty Crocker or any other such cookbook, or the French pâte brisée, using 3 parts butter and 1 part lard or bacon fat. I never ever use vegetable shortening — just use all butter if you don’t have those other fats). Don’t use a store-bought crust. Even a not stellar homemade one will be much better — butter fixes everything!
Filling
7-8 not quite fully ripe Bartlett pears
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 eggs
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
Topping
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Prepare pie crust.
Topping: Add all ingredients except butter and almonds and pulse in your food processor a couple times to combine. Add butter cut in cubes and pulse until it resembles small pebbles. Add the almonds.
Alternatively, add all of the topping ingredients except the almonds to a large bowl and mix with two forks or a pastry cutter. Add the almonds.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Preheat oven to 350℉
Roll out pie crust and place in your pie plate, crimping the edges attractively.
Slice the pears and place in crust to fill it almost to the top but not quite. Thin slices will make the nicest texture for the cooked filling. If you don’t have the filling ready, sprinkle with lemon juice.
Filling: Add eggs to a medium bowl or food processor and lightly beat. Mix in all remaining filling ingredients.
Sprinkle 1/4-1/3 cup of your reserved topping mix over pears.
Evenly pour the filling over the pears. Spread it evenly with a spatula.
Spread the rest of the topping over the filling — you may not use all of it.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the filling has puffed up in the middle and has firmed up.
Check after 40 minutes and cover the top of pie with foil if needed during baking to prevent excessive browning, or broil the pie at the end of baking (without moving oven position) to brown the top — just watch it closely and see what it needs.
Let the pie cool for 2 hours before serving it. Store it in refrigerator — it’s even better, if possible, the next day.
{bits & pieces}
An important post from Msgr. Pope on premarital sex
Excellent, on “Cuties” and why we should rightly be disgusted
An older piece by Gilbert Meilaender on dying: I want to burden my loved ones
If you can’t find the reverent worship you long for (I would add, be sure to have a little oratory at home)
Strong argument on theological grounds on the subject of “ordinary and extraordinary means” when it comes to preserving health and life, from Bishop Paprocki
What does it mean to be magnanimous? It may mean spending large sums on beautiful things!
from the archives
Worried about the new baby when you have a toddler?
Dating rules for teenagers
liturgical year
Blessed Columba Marmion, Abbot (see this post about this great spiritual director’s advice on prayer and devotion — very helpful for the busy person in discerning what is the right way to approach the problem of nourishing the interior life in our state)
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