I made this tart, which is one of my mom's old recipes, for one of my winter dinners and it was met with raving reviews. I wondered if I could make this tart equally delicious in the vegan world, and have succeeded! I tested both versions on my neighbors Bob and Jane, and they approved both tarts with enthusiasm. And you can trust Bob and Jane.
This recipe requires a food processor. If you like cooking and you do not have a food processor, I highly recommend you make the investment. Your life will be richer, more complete, and full of happiness. (Buy a real one, not a dinky little one. Also, blenders are not food processors.)
So, here's the recipe, and vegan substitutions are in (***).
Pear Kuchen Tart
crust
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, well chilled but not frozen, cut into 6 pieces (I use vegan stick margarine for both versions)
3 tablespoons whipping cream (3 tablespoons fatty coconut milk)
3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teasp ground ginger
1/4 teasp grated nutmeg
1/2 teasp cinnamon
1/4 teasp salt
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup oats
filling
4 large firm but ripe pears (won't be good if overly ripe... aim on the crispy side), peeled, cored, sliced thin lengthwise
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup whipping cream (1/2 cup coconut milk)
1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
3 egg yolks (or equiv. 4 eggs made with egg replacer aka tapioca flour w/ some other stuff-- buy the box of egg replacer, and it will last in your freezer for a lifetime if you're at all interested in vegan baking...)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
(I added a pinch of turmeric for the vegan version so the custard wasn't so white and pasty. The egg yolks give it that buttery custard color... The truth about turmeric? For all that color, it really doesn't have a very strong taste. So, believe it or not, the coconut-turmeric-lemon-fake egg custard tasted delicious, and puffed up when baked like a charm.)
For crust: Position rack in center of oven and pre-heat to 375 degrees. Butter 9-inch round tart pan with removable bottom (spring form pans work too).
In food processor, combine flour, butter, cream, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, spices, and salt blend until it resembles a coarse meal. Press 3/4 of this mix into the bottom of your pan. Prick holes in the crust with a fork and bake until crust is lightly brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350.
For struessel topping: With the little pit of flour mixture still in your food processor, add the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, oats, almonds, and maybe some extra margarine. Pulse until everything is coarsely ground, resembling chunky buttery granola. STRUESSSEL! Taste and see how delicious it is! Scoop out of food processor and set aside.
Prepare filling: Slice pears very thin, 1/4" or thinner. Squeeze lemon juice on them if you want or if you're worried about them getting brown.
For custard, combine sugar, cream, flour, yolks (or non-yolks and turmeric), lemon juice and vanilla in food processor (clean it after you make the struessel...) and blend 20 seconds, stop and scrape down bowl, and then blend 20 seconds more.
Take out crust, pour a little bit of custard on the bottom, and arrange sliced pears attractively on top. Pour remaining custard on top of pears, sprinkle on struessel, and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Let kuchen stand at room temperature 10 minutes before removing sides of pan. Serve with ice cream, schlag, or a lemon-cream(coconut)-sugar sauce drizzled on top.
