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.
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.
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!
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.
Caramelized Pear Pastry
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
- Combine the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, sugar and vanilla. Whisk together well and set aside.
- Cut the pear into thin slices.
- 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.
- Prepheat the oven to 400.
- Divide the cream filling between the four pastry squares.
- Twist the edges of the pastry up to form circles. (Just the edges.)
- Divide the caramelized pears between the pastries as well.
- Brush the edges of the pastry with some melted butter.
- 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.)
Nutrition
A Couple More Pastry Bites:
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
Great tips! I’ve been subbing out too and haven’t tried sauces yet…might stay far away from that substitution! These looks so sinfully good!
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Julie!
Holly Lefevre says
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!
lyuba says
Thank you, Holly!
Nancy P.@thebittersideofsweet says
These look wondeful!!
lyuba says
Thank you, Nancy!
Katie @ Made to be a Momma says
Your stuff always looks amazing! Yum! Can’t wait to try this! Would love to have you share over at my link party! http://www.madetobeamomma.com/2013/08/homemade-by-you-65.html
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Katie!
Meghan @ The Tasty Fork says
Lyuba, I want this for breakfast this morning!! Your photos are making me drool all over my laptop! Thank you for linking up to Wake Up Wednesdays! I’m sharing your link on FB, Twitter and Pinterest this morning.
lyuba says
Thank you, Meghan 🙂
Deb @ Kneaded Creations says
wow, these look delicious! Thanks for posting. Deb
lyuba says
Thank you, Deb!
Winnie says
TיThis pear pastry is mouth-watering!!
And I also like the it looks 🙂
lyuba says
Thank you, Winnie!
Jenn says
These looks amazing!!! I need to try these!! Pinned!
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Jenn!
Heather @ French Press says
I have everything I need to make these…YUM
lyuba says
Awesome! Hope you do 🙂
Thank you!
Carla says
OMG, I love pears!
lyuba says
I don’t cook enough with them 🙂 I need to!
Paula says
Yum-o-licious!! Looks very good, Lyuba!
lyuba says
Awww, thank you, Paula!
Tahnycooks says
That might be the most delicious pear pastry I’ve ever seen! I love pears!!! Pinning!
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Tahny!