Poires à la Parisienne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •9-inch (23 cm) tart ring or shallow cake tin, the home equivalent of a flawn-ring
• •Wide 3-quart (3-liter) saucepan for poaching
• •Small heavy saucepan for the vanilla rice
• •4-inch (10 cm) hemispherical bowl with about 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) capacity
• •Flat ovenproof serving platter or removable tart-tin base
• •Pastry brush
• •Piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (12 mm) open-star tip

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the pears

   Combine the poaching water and sugar in a wide saucepan, warming them just until the sugar dissolves. Lower in the peeled pears and cover them with a cartouche (parchment lid), turning them occasionally if the syrup does not fully cover them. Hold the syrup at the barest tremble for 15 to 25 minutes, until a thin skewer enters the thickest part with slight resistance. Remove each pear as it becomes tender, because small pears rarely finish together. If one begins to split, lift it out immediately and cool it in a little syrup; once dry, turn the split toward the rice dome and let the dome support it. Reserve 2 tablespoons of syrup, then leave the pears in the remaining syrup for 15 minutes before draining them thoroughly.

2. 2

   Cook the vanilla rice

   Reserve 2 tablespoons of the milk. Put the remaining milk, rice, vanilla seeds and pod, rice sugar, and salt in a small heavy saucepan. Bring them slowly to a simmer, then cook over very low heat for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring often, until the grains are completely tender and the mixture is thick enough for a spoon drawn across the pan to leave a clear trail. Remove the vanilla pod and stir in 2 teaspoons of butter. If the milk catches, do not scrape the pan floor. Ça se rattrape: transfer the clean upper portion to another pan, add the reserved milk, and finish it gently.

3. 3

   Shape the rice dome

   Butter a 4-inch (10 cm) hemispherical bowl with the remaining butter. Pack in the warm vanilla rice, pressing firmly enough to remove air pockets without crushing the grains. Smooth the surface, cover, and chill for about 30 minutes, until the rice holds its shape but has not hardened.

4. 4

   Prepare the kirsch syrup

   Bring the kirsch-syrup water and sugar to a boil, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Boil for 1 minute, then remove the pan from the heat. Let the syrup cool until barely warm before stirring in the kirsch, which keeps its clean cherry perfume instead of sending it up the chimney.

5. 5

   Soak the Génoise

   Set the almost-cold Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376) on a flat ovenproof platter or removable tart-tin base. Brush the kirsch syrup over it in three or four passes, pausing a minute between each so the liquid travels through the crumb instead of collecting on top. Saturate it evenly, including the rim, but never pour the syrup on at once. Hot Génoise drinks syrup to mush. If the surface begins to pool or sag, stop, touch the puddle with the edge of a folded paper towel, and chill the base uncovered for 10 minutes before continuing more cautiously.

6. 6

   Build the composition

   Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Unmold the vanilla rice in the center of the soaked Génoise. If it clings, wrap the bowl briefly in a warm towel, invert it again, and lift straight upward. Pat the pears very dry, trim the thinnest possible slice from each base, and stand them in a ring around the dome with their stems upright. Nestle each pear lightly against the rice so the arrangement is stable without being crowded.

7. 7

   Pipe the meringue

   Fit a piping bag with a 1/2-inch (12 mm) open-star tip and fill it with the Ordinary Meringue (No. 2382). Pipe one continuous ridged thread around the bases of the pears, following the circle closely, then pipe a fine rosette on top of the rice dome. Keep the pear surfaces visible. If the meringue softens and loses its ridges, chill the filled bag for 5 minutes and repipe the affected section; beating it again only knocks out more air.

8. 8

   Bake in mild heat

   Bake for 12 to 18 minutes, rotating the platter once, until the meringue ridges are dry to the touch and colored a quiet biscuit-gold. Use the mild oven the dish asks for, never the broiler. If the tips darken before the rosette sets, lower the temperature to 275°F (135°C) and lay a loose sheet of parchment over the dessert.

9. 9

   Glaze and border

   While the dessert bakes, warm the strained apricot preserves with the reserved pear-poaching syrup until they form a smooth, rather stiff apricot syrup. If it slides from the brush like water, boil it for another 30 seconds; if it sets in the pan, loosen it with a teaspoon of syrup. Let the baked dessert stand for 5 minutes, then brush the pears generously until they gleam. Arrange the half-sugared cherries in a close border around the outer edge of the Génoise. Serve warm or at room temperature, while the meringue remains crisp at its ridges. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose six genuinely small pears of nearly equal size. Forelle pears are particularly useful; large supermarket Bosc pears overwhelm the Génoise and leave no room for the rice dome. Technique first, but geometry matters when the fruit must stand.
• •If fresh small pears are poor, use whole pears preserved in light syrup and drain them very well. They have already undergone the poaching the dish requires. Canned pear halves will taste pleasant, but they cannot make the upright composition.
• •Half-sugared cherries are a confectioner's preserve, not cocktail cherries. Cherries preserved in light syrup are the honest modern equivalent: drain them, dry them, and let their ruby color belong to the fruit rather than a bottle of dye.
• •The Génoise and Ordinary Meringue remain separate canonical preparations because that separation is how the original recipe works. Make or obtain each finished component, then begin this assembly recipe. Re-deriving them here would turn one evening into a pastry brigade's shift.
• •Serve Poires à la Parisienne within two hours of its final bake. After a night in the cold, the rice firms, the meringue softens, and the Génoise continues drinking. A small glass of demi-sec Champagne suits the pear, kirsch, and apricot without bullying them.

Advance Preparation

• •The stated times begin with the Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376) and Ordinary Meringue (No. 2382) prepared as finished components. Bake the Génoise the same day and plan its kirsch soak for the moment it becomes almost cold.
• •The pears can be poached one day ahead and refrigerated in their syrup. Drain them for at least 30 minutes, then pat them completely dry before standing them on the cake.
• •The vanilla rice can be packed into its bowl one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate it, then leave it at room temperature for 20 minutes before unmolding so it does not remain hard at the center.
• •Prepare the Ordinary Meringue (No. 2382) shortly before piping. Once assembled and baked, the dessert is best served within two hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)