I made the pear tart again last weekend (picture above), and I promised I would share the recipe last time, but I never got around to it (I always see the round shaped wooden TUIT above my father’s desk when I say that). It is modified from a few of the Joy of Cooking’s recipes.

Non-Dairy Pear Tart

First prepare a pate sucree (sweet dart dough) for the crust:

Pate Sucree:
1.5 cups flour
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons non-dairy margarine
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon cold water

Mix together the flour, sugar, salt and then cut in the margarine, working the dough with your fingers or two knives until well blended. Add in the egg yolk and the vanilla and blend. Drizzle in the cold water a few sprinkles at a time, just enough until the dough binds together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a half hour. Preheat your oven to 450F. When the dough has sufficiently chilled, grease a tart pan with removable bottom and roll out the dough being sure to patch all cracks and holes so the filling stays in the tart. The edges should be at least up to the top rim of the tart pan or higher as they will shrink in baking. Save a small bit of dough for patching after pre-baking. Prick the tart in only a few places or weigh down with parchment paper and dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes or until just crisp, not brown. While baking, make:

Custard + Pear Filling:
3 ripe pears
2 eggs + 3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup rice milk or soy milk
1 cup rice cream or soy cream (non-dairy cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon Cointreau

Beat the eggs a bit then add the remaining ingredients (not the pears) and mix until blended. Slice three peeled pears into long slender slices. Take out the completed tart crust from the oven, discard the beans and parchment if you used them, turn down the oven to 325F. Make sure no cracks have developed in the crust, if so patch a bit with saved dough. Place the tart pan on a large piece of aluminum foil to catch drips from the custard. Arrange the pear slices on the tart crust and then gently pour the custard over the slices until just below the rim of the tart crust. Any leftover custard can be baked in the oven in a small ovenproof bowl. Bake the tart for 30 minutes in the 325F oven or until golden on the edges. Let the tart cool slightly before unmolding from the tart pan. Serve warm or cool.

Pictured below: The first attempt of the tart holds the custard better if you don’t prick the crust too much.