141 Caramelised Pear Pastries

Name: Caramelised Pear Pastries
Yield: For four people
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 very ripe pears weighing 120 g (4¼ oz) apiece (Doyenne de Comice, William, Beurre Hardy, etc.) or pears preserved in syrup; 1 lemon; 1 litre (1¾ pints) water to soak the pears; 200 g (7 oz) fresh or frozen Flaky Pastry; 1 vanilla-pod split in two; 1 handful of flour; 1.5 litres (2½ pints) water for cooking the pears; 200 g (7 oz) caster sugar; 4 tablespoons Crème Pâtissière; 1 beaten egg for glazing the pastries; 4 tablespoons whipping cream, chilled for the Crème Chantilly; 1 level tablespoon caster or, better, icing sugar; 1 pinch vanilla sugar; 4 heaped tablespoons caster sugar; 1 teaspoon pear liqueur