Everything tastes better wrapped in puff pastry. Just like bacon, it makes everything near it better, no matter if the filling is sweet or savory. It’s the thousands of little layers of dough and butter that bake up together into a gorgeously flaky package. Last week I poached a bunch of pears in chai tea, then drizzled them in chocolate. They were delightful and will make a terrific Thanksgiving dessert. But, then I got to thinking about how those luscious pears would taste if they were encased in puff pastry and served warm with the ganache. Well, they rock. I suggest you serve the poached pears for Thanksgiving and then wrap the leftovers in the pastry to bake up warm for breakfast the next morning.
Puff pastry is one of those things that I think is just fine to buy if you are trying to save time. However, if you have a long weekend with nothing else to do, go for it and make your own. You will join the ranks of the proud, brave souls who can boast that they’ve survived homemade puff pastry. Just kidding, it really isn’t difficult, just time consuming, but well worth the effort. Having said that, you can find it in the freezer section of your grocery store.
Find the full recipe below and following along with this instructions.
If you are using frozen puff pastry, defrost it. Place 1 tablespoon ganache in the center of the puff pastry square.
Place a poached pear over the ganache.
Pinch the four corners up and over the pear. Be sure to really seal them or they may pop open while baking, which is hardly tragic.
Fold the points over to the sides so they are all facing the same direction.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Refrigerate the covered pears while you preheat the oven to 400°F.
Brush with the egg wash and generously sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Don’t forget that color is flavor, so let them get dark brown on the tips.
Serve with more ganache.
Enjoy warm from the oven or room temperature.
Ingredients
- 6 Poached pears with chocolate ganache Get Recipe
- 6 5-inch squares puff pastry Get Recipe (or use store bought)
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp water
- Sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Place 1 tablespoon ganache in the center of the puff pastry square and place a poached pear over the ganache. (Defrost the puff pastry first, if using frozen.)
- Pinch the four corners up and over the pear. Be sure to really seal them or they may pop open while baking, which is hardly tragic.
- Fold the points over to the sides so they are all facing the same direction.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Refrigerate the covered pears while you preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Brush with the egg wash (combine the water and egg) and generously sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Don’t forget that color is flavor, so let them get dark brown on the tips.
These sound lovely! Great idea!
Wow. There are no words. Just, wow.
Almost too pretty to eat. Almost.
This is such a great idea! I agree puff pastry makes everything better. I was thinking of a simple tarte tatin with my pears but gosh this is infinitely awesomer!
I love puff pastries. Like the addition of pears along with the nice photos.
Simply beautiful. 🙂
Oh this looks delicious. Totally gonna make this, this weekend 🙂
Oh my goodness. These look amazing, Zoe.
I tried this recipe when I saw it, and added a bit more ganache in the filling. It tasted great! I love it.
Hi Christian,
So glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the note!
Cheers, Zoë
Wow, you have made some gorgeous pears! Love the puff pastry! Happy Thanksgiving Zoe!