CRANBERRY PEAR TART WITH GINGERBREAD CRUST

Steps:

• Make pear mixture: In a saucepan, combine cranberry juice, sugar, cinnamon stick and lemon juice.
• Bring to boil and add pears.
• Heat until it just comes to simmer and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, or until the pears are just tender.
• Remove from heat, stir in cranberries and let mixture cool.
• Chill, covered, for at least 8 hours.
• (may be made 2 days in advance) Crust: Blend together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt.
• Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• In a small bowl, stir together egg yolk and the molasses.
• Add to flour mixture and mix until combined well but still crumbly.
• Turn out onto 10 inch tart pan with removable rim and press onto bottom and up sides of pan.
• Chill crust for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• 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.
• Remove foil and pie weights and bake crust a further 10 minutes.
• Let cool.
• Transfer poached pears and half the cranberries with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, discard cinnamon, and reserve syrup with remaining cranberries.
• In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, sour cream, milk, vanilla, zest and a pinch of salt.
• Stir in the drained cranberries.
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Spoon half of custard into the crust.
• 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.
• Bake tart in middle of oven for 50-55 minutes or until custard is just set.
• Remove rim of pan and let cool.
• (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.
• Brush pears with some of cranberry glaze and arrange cranberries around edge of tart.
• Serve warm or chilled.