Pear Galette

Galettes are quicker and easier than traditional tarts plus they have a wonderful rustic charm to them (especially when they aren't perfectly formed.) This pear tart is a delicious way to finish off a fall meal.

Crust

3/4 cup Partially Sifted Flour
2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup cold milk

Filling

4 pears, peeled & sliced
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Mix together the flour and sugar. Cut in the butter until the the dough looks like oatmeal. Add just enough milk that you can work with the dough. Be careful not to over mix though: you'll get a tough crust. Roll out the dough into a flat circle on a piece of parchment paper and chill while you prepare the filling.

For the filling, mix together the pears, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and ginger. Mound it onto the middle of the crust and fold up the edges to make a couple inches of crust. 

Bake the galette for about 1 hour at 350F. Serve with a drizzle of honey. 

Chocolate Buttermilk Pie

This pie is incredibly decadent. Eat it while it’s still warm and it has the taste and texture of brownie batter, cold it’s like a pie full of truffle. It's so delicious that it was toddler approved – thanks Levi (I put out the pie to take a picture or two. I turned around to grab my camera and caught the little guy red handed. It was the last piece…)

2 uncooked pie shells
1 ½ cups chocolate chips
½ cup butter
3 eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
¼ cup Partially Sifted Flour

Melt the chocolate chips and butter together on a double broiler. Set aside to cool a bit. Beat eggs until frothy then add sugar, vanilla, buttermilk, flour and melted chocolate beating well between each addition.

Pour the batter evenly into pie shells and bake at 350°F for about an hour or until centre is firm and top is crusty. I used a cookie sheet under each pie to catch any overflow. Eat warm or chilled – both are delicious. 

Chocolate Caramel Pie

So this might not be our healthiest recipe – whipping cream, butter, chocolate – but boy oh boy, it sure is delicious! Save this recipe for a special occasion. I think a Wednesday afternoon qualifies as special enough!

Crust:

1 cup Partially Sifted Flour
3 tbsp sugar
½ tsp sea salt
1 tbsp cocoa powder
½ cup chilled butter, cubed
2 large egg yolks 

Caramel Filling:

1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup butter, cubed
1 tsp vanilla
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Chocolate Ganache:

2 cups heavy whipping cream
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a tart or cheesecake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. To make the crust, begin by blending together the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, sea salt and cocoa powder. Cut in the butter until mixture looks like oatmeal. Mix in two large egg yolks. Press the crust into the bottom of the pan and work up the edges. If needed, you can add a teaspoon of water to the crust mixture to help it stick. Bake for about 20 minutes. Take it out and let cool. 

To make the caramel filling, dissolve the sugar in the water in a sauce pan over low heat. Once dissolved, raise the temperature to medium-high and continue stirring until sugar caramelizes and turns amber. Be careful though, sugar burns easily. Once smooth, take off heat and stir in butter, vanilla and sea salt until mixture is smooth. Allow it to cool slightly before pouring into crust. 

To make the chocolate ganache, bring whipping cream to a slight boil. Whisk in the chocolate until melted. Cool mixture in fridge for 2 – 3 hours. Once cool, whip the ganache until thick. smooth mixture on top of caramel layer. To top it off, we melted chocolate and drizzled it on top and sprinkled a bit of sea salt. Cool the entire pie for a couple of hours before serving. Delicious!