Blueberry And Pear Torte With White Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

For the Basic Sweet Pie Crust: Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl.

Add in the butter and shortening.

Rub the fats between your fingertips and thumbs, or possibly use a pastry blender, till the mix resembles coarse crumbs.

One Tbsp.

at a time, work in sufficient ice water just till the dough comes together, being careful not to over mix.

Shape into a smooth ball, flatten into a disc, and wrap in plastic wrap.

Chill for at least 30 min, and up to 2 days.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 10- to 12-inch round which is 1/8-inch thick.

Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan.

Trim off any overhanging dough to make a 1/2-inch wide overhang.

Flute the edges of the dough with your fingertips.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or possibly dry beans.

Bake till the crust is set, about 12 min.

Remove the paper and weights and bake till golden, about 8 min.

Remove from the oven and allow to cold.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place a large 12-inch saute/fry pan over medium-high heat and heat the butter.

Once the butter has melted, add in the pear slices to the pan, add in the sugar, lemon zest, and cinnamon to the pan and saute/fry with the pears.

Make a slurry using the lemon juice, water and cornstarch, add in this to the saute/fry pan and cook for 3 min longer.

Toss to blend, season with the salt, and remove from the heat.

Add in the blueberries to the pan and stir to blend.

Place the fruit filling in the piecrust and place the tart in the oven.

Bake the tart for 30 min and remove.

Let cold for 15 min or possibly longer.

For the White Chocolate Ice Cream: Combine the cream and 1 c. of the lowfat milk in a large heavy saucepan.

Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.

Scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the cream mix and add in the bean pod.

Whisk the yolks and sugar in a medium bowl.

In a slow and steady stream, whisk 1 c. of the warm cream mix into the egg mix.

Gradually whisk the egg mix back into the saucepan.

Add in the white chocolate to the custard, and stir constantly over medium-low heat till the mix thickens sufficient to coat the back of a spoon and reaches 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 min.

Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof medium bowl.

Stir in the remaining 1 c. lowfat milk into the ice cream base and cover with plastic wrap, press the wrap against the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming.

Chill till well chilled, at least 2 hrs.

Pour the chilled custard into an ice cream machine.

Churn according to the manufacturers' instructions.

Pack into an airtight container and freeze till ready to serve.

Serve the torte with the White Chocolate Ice Cream.

Garnish with blueberries, mint and powdered sugar.

This recipe yields 8 to 10 servings.