Puff the magic pastry

Sooo… The Pepperidge Farms contest allows you to enter 3 items: an appetizer, main dish and a dessert. I had already submitted an appetizer, and a breakfast entree, all I needed now was dessert. So here it is!

Pineapple Upside Up Tart

For the tart:
Pineapple slices, thinly sliced and quartered
1/3 cp juice from the pineapple
1/2 cp pecans, chopped
2 Pepperidge Farms puff pastry sheets
1 cp Caramel Topping
1 1/2 cp Pastry Cream

For the Pastry Creme (adapted from Let’s Cook French recipe)
Ingredients (for 6 people):
1 cp milk
1/3 of a vanilla pod
2 egg yolks
2.5 ozs sugar
1/8 cp flour
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp bourbon (or your favorite liqueur)
Directions:
Bring the milk to a boil with the vanilla. Using your mixer, whip the egg yolks with the sugar until it stretches like ribbon when you raise it with the spoon, then add the flour. Bring the mixer’s speed to low and slowly pour the boiling milk on the mixture, being careful not to drop the vanilla pod.

Once you have incorporated all of the milk, put the mixture back into the pot you used to heat the milk and cook over medium low heat, stirring continuously. Remove from burner when thickened. Set aside to cool.

For the Caramel Topping:
1/4 cp butter
1/2 cp brown sugar
1/3 cp juice from pineapple
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp heavy cream
In a small saucepan, melt the butter with sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and juice (you may need to add a little water to measure 1/3 cp). Bring this to a boil and allow to cook until the sugar melts and it begins to thicken. Add the cream, stir and remove from the heat.

To assemble the tart:
Preheat oven to 400°. You will bake both pastry sheets.

First layer: On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, unfold one sheet and bake as directed. Remove from oven and with a flat spatula, press the down on the puff pastry to collapse the layers. Set aside and allow it to cool.

Second layer: On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, unfold one sheet and bend the edges upward to create a little dam. Add the caramel topping. Then spread the pecan pieces and top with the pineapple pieces. I used about 5 slices from a fresh pineapple, which I then quartered. You can use canned fruit. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool.

Place the first layer on your serving dish, top it with the chilled pastry cream. Then carefully place the second layer on top. Allow it to cool for about an hour before serving.

Enjoy!

Cookingly yours,
Anamaris