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Ingredients
Sweet Pastry
- 115g Butter (preferably unsalted, with salt added later to taste)
- 85g Caster Sugar
- 225g Plain Flour
Filling
- 115g Butter (Unsalted)
- 115g Caster Sugar
- 115g Ground Almonds
- 2 Eggs
- 1tbsp flaked Almonds
Method
- Make the pastry: Whizz the butter in a food processor until soft. Add the sugar and salt and blend further until pale and smooth. Add the egg yoke and finally the flour. Blend again. If the mix seems too dry add a little water (for eg: 1tbsp). The pastry should come together into a ball. When made, cover it in clingfilm and put it into the fridge to rest for a couple of hours.
- Roll the pastry: Roll it out on a lightly floured surface to fit a 28cm/11inch shallow tart tin with a removable base. Lightly butter the inside of the tart tin and line with the pastry. Put back into the fridge – or the freezer – to chill again. Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Blind Bake the tart case: Line the pastry case with non stick baking paper and then with baking beans, baking the pastry for for 10 mins covered. Remove the paper and the beans and cook it for a further 5 minutes until lightly coloured and firm. Remove the pastry case from the oven (but do not turn it off!) to allow the pastry to cool.
- Make the Frangipane: Cream the butter and sugar for the filling in a food processor until well mixed, then blend in the eggs and then the ground almonds. Pour the mixture into the cooled pastry case and smooth the surface.
- Add the fruit: Peal, halve and core the pears. Subsequently slice them lengthways and fan out. Arrange the fanned pears on top of the frangipane and sprinkle with flaked almonds, Bake with the oven still at 180C for 30-40 mins. When cooked, the surface should be golden, just set and the pears should be tender. Serve with clotted cream or good vanilla ice cream.