A very fine “Cardamom Blueberry Butter & Seckel Pear Tart”
Recently a small package, neatly wrapped in brown paper arrived at my home. It was post-marked from Victoria, British Columbia. A bright red “fragile” sticker was prominently displayed on the front. I knew immediately that my “prize” had arrived. And indeed upon tearing open the box I found, nestled snuggly inside, cushioned with bright turquoise tissue paper, 3 beribboned jars of “Cardamom Blueberry Butter”. Two of favorite flavors melded into one knockout treat!
The lovely trio of jars was homemade using fresh Canadian Blueberries by another blogger-friend, Kristy Lynn, who has a great blog at: gastronomicalsovereignty@blogspot.com. I have been following and enjoying Kristy’s blog for a while now and recently she did a “giveaway” of three jars of her homemade blueberry butter & I was the lucky winner. British Columbia to Tennessee….a long trip for some little glass jars.
Lucky I was indeed! The first thing I did was grab a spoon, open a jar & eat it straight from the jar. Mmmmm. It was so delicious & unlike any fruit butter I’ve ever had. Beautiful color & texture, a definite fresh blueberry taste with just a hint of the cardamom. I love thinking about how far these berries-turned-into-butter traveled….where they came from, Kristy making the butter and canning them in her kitchen far, far away. Here I was in Nashville enjoying the flavor of British Columbia right in my own kitchen. Two degrees of delicious separation.
Next…a few days later, my toast test….slices of buttered toast with a smear of Kristy’s blueberry butter. Oh yes…the perfect venue. Kerrygold Butter & Blueberry Butter on hot toast…if it’s good on toast, then it’s good.
Not nice to hoard my treat not sharing with others…even though that thought went through my head. This week I used some of Kristy’s Cardamom Blueberry Butter as the main ingredient for a tart I developed. I had some sweet little ripe Seckel pears and a tub of Mascarpone cheese which seemed like a nice pairing with the butter along with a sweetened pastry crust.
For this recipe I used:
5 ripe Seckel pears, peeled & cored, cut in half lengthwise
1 (8oz) tub of Mascarpone cheese
4 generous tablespoons Cardamom Blueberry Butter (this recipe could be made with any really good homemade butter such as pumpkin butter)
1 pastry slightly sweetened
Raw or Turbinado sugar
Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll pastry dough out on floured board to about a 12 inch circle more or less. Fit into an 8 inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
2. Use a knife to cut away any pastry that overlaps the edge of the pan.
3. Spread the container of Mascarpone cheese over the bottom of the crust evenly.
4. Top with Cardamom Blueberry Butter.
5. Peel pears with a sharp knife. Cut pears in half longways. Carefully remove core. I used the sharp edge of a small table-spoon to remove core as pears were very ripe and small. Place pear halves face down on top of the blueberry butter.
6. Sprinkle pears with a bit of the raw sugar. Bake for about 30 minutes or until mixture is hot and bubbly, crust is a deep golden brown & tops of pears are starting to brown. Remove from oven. Let cool on a rack for about 30 minutes to serve warm. This tart is also delicious served at room temp.
7. Serve cut into wedges with an additional sprinkling of sugar to add just a bit of crunch to each bite.
There were a few friends…the tart was cut, it was shared, it was eaten with Relish, it was enjoyed on a fall day at the end of October.
A Small All Hallow’s Eve Gallery
adios October, hola November…..
Your blog is the best blog ever and the recipe looks pear-fect!
You so sweet…mon amie.
yummy.
Wow that looks terrific.
That tart looks delicious. Why am I never around to taste these yummy things? Alas, the cobblers children have no shoes!
Whitney, well put! But maybe the cobbler’s children have cobbler’s and tarts!
Aw – it’s so surreal to see my jars in your house and you baking with their contents! I love it! I really am so glad you’ve enjoyed the butter!!
Kristy Lynn, I think those little jars of deliciousness might become kinda, sorta famous…I think Relish Mag is sending you a contract for usage of the recipe, I will keep you up to date on the article’s appearance. Happy November
I wouldn’t complain about that at all! haha… I’ve sent in the contract and am awaiting confirmation of receipt.
PS. Happy November!
I am excited that we will be in a weird way doing an article in a magazine together but separate. It is a small world.
congrats on winning such a delicacy! you did it justice. a terrific pear tart with cardamom blueberry butter. wow. I’ll have to check out Kristy Lynn’s site.
I wish I had your lovely blueberry butter. I have the pears sitting on my counter. I can see another trip to the store for mascarpone and a pint of blueberries. It won’t be your beautiful tart but it will satisfy the cravings that you have started. What a lovely idea you had.
The tart looks beautiful and love the Halloween pics.
Thanks for stopping by…the tart was so absolutely perfect to my taste buds in all ways. We had a few hundred trick or treaters by our house on Halloween night…lots of very cute kids all dressed up…I had a great time.
yet another wonderful treat from you…i want the leftovers!!!
You and Johan must come in the Spring when it is again warm and lovely here and I will make you a tart or two!
Oh my goodness, what a nice combination of flavors.
I wish I had your lovely blueberry butter. I have the pears sitting on my counter. I can see another trip to the store for mascarpone and a pint of blueberries. It won’t be your beautiful tart but it will satisfy the cravings that you have started. What a lovely idea you had.
+1
Blueberry s an pears!! What a delicious sounding combination. Now all we need is some frozen yogurt….
This time I was one of the lucky ones to eat this tart. As good to eat as it is to look at. Bravo!!! JIll
scary and delicious