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This cake is specific to the Côtes d'Armor region - in the Breton language, kouing means cake and amann means butter.
Here, the cake is used as a tart base for poached pears, accompanied by pears with spiced anise syrup.
We use the term "parish priest's pears" ("poires de cure") because the most beautiful fruits grow in presbytery gardens, especially the pears which are trained on espalier.
The quality of the butter is essential to this recipe.
Serves 4
Ingredients
10 pears - 250 g butter (9 1/4 oz) - 180 g milk (6 1/2 oz) - 20 g organic baker's yeast (2/3 oz) - 180 g slightly salted butter (6 1/2 oz) - 300 g sugar (11 oz) - 10 g melted butter (1/3 oz) - 20 g powdered fennel (2/3 oz) - Juice of 1 lemon - 2 vanilla beans
Meticulous and fairly time-consuming - You will need a 12 cm (5 inch) pastry cutter and three rings 12 cm (5 inches) wide and 3 cm (1 1/4 inch) high.
Preparation
Well in advance, the kouing-amann dough: dissolve the organic yeast in the milk. Place the flour in a large bowl. Pour in the milk, mixing with the tips of your fingers to form a smooth ball. Set the dough aside in a warm place until it doubles in volume.
Meanwhile, mix the room temperature butter with 100 g (4 oz) of the sugar. As for puff pastry, make an envelope with the dough, place the sugared butter in the centre and enclose it. Roll the dough out to a rectangle 60 cm (24 inches) long and 20 cm (8 inches) wide, fold it in three to form a square, turn it 1/4 turn, then roll it out again to the same size and fold it in three. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Next : the poached pears. In a saucepan, combine 2 l (8 cups) water with 200 g (7 oz) sugar, 2 split vanilla beans and the juice of one lemon. Peel and core the pears, and cut them in half. When the syrup comes to a boil, add the pears and poach them for 15 minutes over low heat.
Meanwhile, prepare the tart shells: roll out the kouing-amann dough 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) thick. Using the pastry cutter, cut 4 tart shells and place them on a pastry sheet. Wait 20 minutes for the dough to rise, then place one and a half pears' worth of slices, as evenly as possible, on each shell.
Last minute
Slide the filled tarts in the oven at 180 C (375 F, Gas 6), having first sprinkled them with sugar and brushed them with melted butter.
Meanwhile, cut the 8 remaining pear halves into slices 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) thick and fill the rings with these slices. Set aside in the fridge.
Heat 15 g (1/2 oz) fennel powder in a saucepan, stirring with a wooden spatula. When the powder gives off a good anise aroma, deglaze with 50 cl (2 cups) of the cooking syrup from the pears. Let the juice boil for 1 min.
To serve, place a pear tart on each plate. Place the cold pear slices on top of the tarts, drizzling with a spoonful of anise syrup. Sprinkle with the remaining fennel powder.
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© Olivier Roellinger - Maisons de Bricourt.
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