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Will Cook For Smiles

Caramelized Pear Pastry

by 39 Comments

I got a delicious treat for you! It’s Caramelized Pear Pastry and it’s made with the flaky puff pastry, cream cheese, Greek yogurt and caramelized pears.
I’m also sharing the good and the bad about making substitutions with Greek yogurt.


Caramelized Pear Pastry 1 (c) willcookforsmiles.com #pastry #pear

I’ve been on a quest lately, a cooking quest so to say.

I’ve been trying to see if it’s true what they say about substituting Greek yogurt in cooking and baking. I’ve been playing around with some Chobani Greek yogurt and I’ve had a lot of success but also, a few failures.

You guys know me, I always tell you the truth, so I will tell you about my success AND my failures. I don’t believe in only sharing my success stories because it’s not fair to you and we learn from our mistakes.

Caramelized Pear Pastry 2 (c) willcookforsmiles.com #pastry #pear

You guys know that cooking is a science and baking is an exact science. There is a reason why you have to measure most ingredients and that there are chemical reactions that happen while baking. Putting certain ingredients together and in different amounts will yield different results. Sometimes, messing with baking and cooking formulas will end in disasters. It happens to all of us and that’s how we learn!

So in my latest experiments with substituting Greek yogurt in baking and cooking, I’ve ran into a couple of problems. Mostly, it’s been very successful but not every time.

Success:

** Substituting Greek yogurt for sour cream in baking. Ex. cheesecake.

** Substituting Greek yogurt in cold salads. Ex. chicken salad, pasta salad.

** Using Greek yogurt in salad dressings.

** Substituting Greek yogurt for sour cream as toppings. Ex. tacos and soups.

Failure:

** Substituting Greek yogurt for sour cream in some sauces!

I’ve tried making several sauces with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and I ran into a couple of snags. I’ve made a tomato cream pasta sauce which turned out to be an epic fail. I’ve also made a lemon pepper creamy sauce for boneless wings and it too, failed. Later, I remade those sauces with sour cream and they turned out pretty well.

My conclusion from this experiment was that acidity works differently with Greek yogurt than sour cream. The acidity in tomatoes and the acidity in lemon made the Greek yogurt curdle instantly. Although, when I used sour cream in the sauce, it did not.

So please be aware that the substitution is not always equal!

Caramelized Pear Pastry (c) willcookforsmiles.com #pastry #pear

Now, these awesome pear pastries were definitely a great success in my experiment. They are easy to make but your family will think that you ran out to a fancy bakery right before breakfast.

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Caramelized Pear Pastry

Servings 4 pastries

Ingredients

  • 1 sheet of puff pastry cut in 4 equal squares
  • 2 oz cream cheese
  • 2 oz of vanilla Chobani Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 large pear
  • 1 1/2 tbs butter
  • 1 tbs light rum
  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • 1/2 tbs melted butter for brushing

Instructions

  1. Combine the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, sugar and vanilla. Whisk together well and set aside.
  2. Cut the pear into thin slices.
  3. Preheat a pan on medium-high heat. You will have to work fast here: add the butter and let it brown (it will only take a couple of seconds.) Add the brown sugar and rum. Stir constantly. Add the pear slices and stir until the slices a coated. Cook the pears, stirring often, until caramelized.
  4. Prepheat the oven to 400.
  5. Divide the cream filling between the four pastry squares.
  6. Twist the edges of the pastry up to form circles. (Just the edges.)
  7. Divide the caramelized pears between the pastries as well.
  8. Brush the edges of the pastry with some melted butter.
  9. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the pastry is raised and golden. (Don't worry, the pastry will puff in the center but it will go down once you take it out of the oven.)

Recipe Notes

Recipe from Lyuba @ willcookforsmiles.com

Caramelized Pear Pastry 3 (c) willcookforsmiles.com #pastry #pear

A Couple More Pastry Bites:

Honey Dijon Chicken Pockets 2 ed

Honey Dijon Chicken Pockets

DSCN4708 (edited)

Cranberry Brie Puffs

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Comments

  11. Holly Lefevre

    August 30, 2013 at 2:30 am

    Thanks for the scoop on cooking with Greek yogurt – I have yet to try this substitution. As for the tarts – YUMMY! I am always looking for new ideas for the holidays and this might be it!

    Reply

  14. Adelina Priddis

    August 30, 2013 at 4:59 pm

    And that is why I usually just play around with tried and true recipes with things that won’t terribly alter. The Pear Pastry looks so beautiful. Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friday

    Reply

  15. Teresa

    August 30, 2013 at 8:53 pm

    Those pear pastries look amazing! I’m saving so I can make very soon. I’d love to have something different with my coffee in the morning and these would be great!

    Thanks for sharing your greek yogurt experiences. I tried greek yogurt in a smoked salmon dip which also used lemon juice and I felt it just didn’t work. I didn’t even think about how the acidity could change the flavor of the dip. I’m following you on BlogLovin’ now. Take care.

    Reply

  16. Krista @ joyfulhealthyeats

    September 1, 2013 at 2:47 pm

    Totally with you on the successes and failures with greek yogurt. I tried it in a mushroom sauce one time and it sooo did not work. Thanks for “speaking the truth!” This pastry looks awesome, would be perfect for a Saturday morning breakfast. 🙂

    Reply

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