Bleu Cheese Mousse tart with Port Poached Pear
Ingredients
- For tart shell:
- 1 Cup Flour
- 1/2 Cup Chilled Butter
- 1 large Egg yolk
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Cold Water
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- For Blue Cheese Mousse
- 1/2 Lb Soft Blue Cheese
- 1/2 Lb Cream Cheese
- 1/4 Cup Honey
- 1 Tbsp Sour Cream
- For Poached Pear:
- 2 to 3 Medium Fresh Pears
- 1 Bottle Port Wine
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 2 Each Cinnamon Sticks
- 1 Each Fresh Orange
- 2 Tbsp Sliced Fresh Ginger
- 1 Each Vanilla Bean, split
Instructions
- Make the tart shells: Chop the butter into pea sized pieces. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then mix the butter in with the flour mix until it begins to form a dough. Add in the water and egg yolk. Continue kneading until a solid dough forms. Allow to rest for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then, roll out and place the dough into miniature rounds. Place in tart baking pans. You can do minis or a large. For our purposes, we prefer mini. Poke the bottoms of the shells with a fork. Bake the shells for about 20 minutes until golden brown. You may want to blind bake by lining the shells with foil and weighing that down with dry beans or rice. When baked, remove from oven and allow to completely cool.
- Poach the pears: Peel and core the pears. Cut them in half for the poaching. Place all ingredients except pears into a pot and bring to a boil. Allow the sugar to completely melt. Then, place the pears in the liquid and bring to a simmer. Allow the fruit to soften, yet maintain a bit of a crunch. Check after about 15 minutes. They should be done. Give a little more time if necessary. Remove the cooked pears from the liquid. Then, continue cooking the liquid down until it becomes a thick syrup. You will drizzle this on the final tart.
- make the Mousse: Puree the bleu cheese until smooth, with few chunks. This can be done in a food processor or mixing bowl. Whip the cream cheese in a stand mixer and fold in the remaining ingredients. It should be fluffy. Be careful not to overwhip or it will become too loose.
- Assemble: Cut the pears into appropriate size for the tarts. Pipe the mousse into the shells using a pastry bar with or without a tip. Top with the poached pears and drizzle or brush on the port syrup. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later use.