Stories of cooking adventures: desserts

I'm not a successful dessert maker, generalizing. Perhaps once in a while something has come out swell, but I'm not very patient with them (pass me a simple bowl of ice cream, please). Fancy pantsiest thing I ever made was a hazelnut chocolate mousse and whipped cream filled zuccotto, and that was actually not hard, just looked difficult. Will post recipe after I find it in the cookbook closet. But usually my cakes have slopes of one sort or another (4 percent?) and I never reproduced a neighbor's cake icing of my childhood - food color dyed seven minute frosting on a fabulous angel food cake. Rest in peace, Mrs. H.
On the other hand, I only tried that once - no patience.

Please add your own dessert adventures on this thread.

So, today I start this thread as I am waiting for the caramelized pears that are sitting in the cast iron frying pan cooling before I toss on a sugar dough, tucking in the sides, and baking. That is not all the hard part - though the caramel may be a tad on the toasty side, not burnt - but that I have to do a flip maneuver just after it bakes.

The trouble is that I upped the size of the fry pan, based on what I own, too small or too big, and have to flip the thing while piping hot onto the one big enough ceramic plate, wearing oven mitts of course. I can, yes I can, lift the plate and the 12" cast iron pan together and place on the waiting tile, but will I do it seamlessly?

We'll see. If this works, I'll invest in a 9 - 10" fry pan, as it already looks like it will taste smashingly good - unless it hits the floor.

So, the recipe -

Pastry Dough
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pastry-Dough-108789

and the Tart
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Carmelized-Upside-Down-Pear-Tart-108779

I upped the ingredients to fit my pan. I used odd pears - two bosc, two anjou, two comice of apparent equal ripeness.





Or, next time I might just try a galette...