Digit's Pear Paradise

May 11, 2020

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Alex from “Cyberchase For Real” teams up with renowned chef, Marcus Samuelsson, to make a dessert that’s out of this world: Digit’s Pear Paradise! This recipe can be adapted using fruits that are locally available in your area and is a great opportunity to learn and create at home. To make this delicious treat at home, check out Chef Samuelsson’s complete recipe and “how to” video below.

Before You Bake

Have you ever wondered how far your food has travelled to get to your plate?

Watch the Cyberchase episode “Journey of a Thousand Food Miles” and “Cyberchase Makes: Pear Paradise” with your child and discuss with them the idea of food miles — the distance your food travels before it reaches your kitchen. When an item has a large number of food miles, it often means there was a lot of energy used, and pollution created, in order to get it to you. Look through your own groceries to see where your food and ingredients originated. Talk with your child about possible ways to track and reduce the food miles of your foods, checking food labels or using ingredients when they are in season. And whenever possible, become a “localvore” shopping for ingredients that come from local farmers and markets.

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare your pie crust following the directions included on its packaging or recipe.

For the pear chip topping, pre-heat oven to 275ºF.

Bring 2 cups of water and 2 cups sugar to a boil. Stir together to make simple syrup.

In a skillet, cover sliced pears with simple syrup and simmer until translucent.

Transfer sliced pears to baking sheet and cook in oven for 1 hour.

For the pastry cream, bring milk and vanilla to a boil.

Whisk together cornstarch, 1 cup of granulated sugar and eggs.

Slowly add 1/3 of the milk and vanilla mixture to the egg mixture, whisking quickly.

Pour mixture back into milk pot and cook on medium heat until it thickens.

Stir in butter and set aside.

For the pie filling, use a 2 quart saucepan and combine the diced pears, 1/4 cup of water and lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg to a large bowl, and whisk to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes.

Pour the sugar and spice mixture over the pears, stirring occasionally until sauce is thickened.

To assemble pie, add a thin layer of pastry cream onto pie crust. Smooth cream evenly.

Add desired amount of caramel and top with pear filling.

Add a layer of whipped cream to the top of the pie and add more caramel if desired.

Ask your child how many slices you want to divide the pie into. Top each slice with a pear chip and enjoy!

Explore Further

Bartlett pears are a delicious, and widely available, ingredient to you can bake with. But even they aren’t always in season! Investigate with your child what produce is in season at different times of the year by searching on the internet or talking with a local grocer. Experiment with other fruit in your pies and try other recipes that use local fruits and vegetables.

Recipe is provided courtesy of Marcus Samuelsson. He is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, author, and co-owner of Red Rooster Harlem. Read more about Marcus' accomplishments here.