Cranberry Pear Tart With Gingerbread Crust

This tart is work. But sometimes you need to work a little harder to reap in the benefits - and you'll love this recipe. Fortunately, most of the work can be done way ahead of time. Drop-dead-gorgeous. Drop-dead-delicious. Also, that 'something special' you're looking for for your next Thanksgiving/Holiday meal.

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 10

Ingredients

• Pear Mixture

• 4  cups cranberry juice cocktail
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 4  inches cinnamon sticks
• 2  tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 4  large  firm ripe pears, halved lengthwise, peeled, cored and put into a bowl of ice water acidulated with
• 1⁄2  lemon, juice of
• 1⁄3 cup dried cranberries

• Crust

• 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3  tablespoons  firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 1⁄2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2  teaspoons ground ginger
• 3⁄4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 cup butter, cold, cut into bits
• 1  large  egg yolk
• 2  tablespoons dark molasses

• Custard

• 3  large eggs
• 1⁄3 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 cup sour cream
• 1⁄4 cup milk
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1  teaspoon  freshly grated orange zest

Directions

1. Make pear mixture: In a saucepan, combine cranberry juice, sugar, cinnamon stick and lemon juice.
2. Bring to boil and add pears.
3. Heat until it just comes to simmer and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, or until the pears are just tender.
4. Remove from heat, stir in cranberries and let mixture cool.
5. Chill, covered, for at least 8 hours.
6. (may be made 2 days in advance) Crust: Blend together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt.
7. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.
8. In a small bowl, stir together egg yolk and the molasses.
9. Add to flour mixture and mix until combined well but still crumbly.
10. Turn out onto 10 inch tart pan with removable rim and press onto bottom and up sides of pan.
11. Chill crust for 30 minutes.
12. Preheat oven to 375°F.
13. Prick crust all over with fork, line with foil, fill with pie weights or dry beans, and bake in lower third of oven for 15 minutes.
14. Remove foil and pie weights and bake crust a further 10 minutes.
15. Let cool.
16. Transfer poached pears and half the cranberries with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, discard cinnamon, and reserve syrup with remaining cranberries.
17. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, sour cream, milk, vanilla, zest and a pinch of salt.
18. Stir in the drained cranberries.
19. Preheat oven to 325°F.
20. Spoon half of custard into the crust.
21. Slice 4 of the pear halves crosswise on the diagonal, arrange decoratively over the custard alternately with the unsliced pear halves, and spoon remaining custard around pears.
22. Bake tart in middle of oven for 50-55 minutes or until custard is just set.
23. Remove rim of pan and let cool.
24. (may be made up to 8 hours in advance, cooled completely and chilled) Boil reserved syrup until reduced to 1 cup and is jelly-like in consistency and transfer cranberries with slotted spoon to a plate to cool.
25. Brush pears with some of cranberry glaze and arrange cranberries around edge of tart.
26. Serve warm or chilled.