When I told Gourmet Dad about my latest creation he said…”ooookaaaaay…..”, not sure about the flavor combination. However, when I served it up, he gobbled up the first piece and then said, “is that piece on the counter up for grabs?” Ha!
The sweet and crunchy crust with creamy banana, sweet honey tang, smooth pears and zing of cinnamon is a winning combination…almost like “grown-up” banana cream pie. Yum!
Pear, Banana & Honey TartCrust:
6 T. butter, softened
1 c. flour
¼ c. white sugar
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Filling:
1/3 c. Honey
12 oz. Marscapone cheese (use cream cheese if you can’t locate any)
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Topping:
2 large pears, cored and sliced thin
1 ½ tsp. white sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. Honey
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, combine all crust ingredients with a fork or pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Press into tart pan or pie dish. Bake at 425 degrees for 5-7 minutes, until it’s just starting to brown. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine all filling ingredients and mix well. Pour onto crust and spread evenly. Top with sliced pears. In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top of the pears. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp. honey. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes. Place in refrigerator and chill completely, at least one hour. To serve, slice and drizzle with additional honey if desired.
