Although approaching the end of their stores, pears can still readily be found in shops in the UK in February and March.
This tart is great served warm on a winter’s night with a large scoop of ice cream while sat in front of the fire.
Preparation time 10 minutes; baking time 1 hour in total
Ingredients
1 pack ready-made shortcrust sweet pastry (375g) or a ready-made sweet pastry case
75g butter
75g caster sugar
75g ground almonds
40g plain flour
2 eggs + 1 egg for an egg wash if placing leaves on the top of the tart
1 pear
1 x 20cm (8 inch) flan tin
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 ºC. On a lightly floured surfaced, roll out the pastry to roughly ½ cm thickness, making sure it is large enough to line the base and sides of your dish. Line the dish, pressing the pastry into the base gently. Trim away the excess pastry from the top of the tin with a knife and chill for 30 minutes.
Once chilled, prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork. Line with greaseproof paper or tinfoil and fill with ceramic baking beans or uncooked rice. Bake for 15 minutes at 180 ºC before removing the baking beans or rice. Reduce the oven temperature to 160 ºC and bake the base for a further 10 minutes or until it is a light golden colour all over.
If you have the time and happen to have a leaf cutter, you can use the leftover pastry to create leaves to place around the top of the pastry. Not only does this add an extra something to the tart, it also hides the fact that the pastry might not be entirely even (as mine often isn't!) Cut out the leaves and place in the fridge until ready to use.
While the pastry is baking, make the frangipane filling. In a bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, almonds, flour and eggs until smooth. Place in the fridge until the pastry is ready.
Peel, core and slice the pears. Pour the frangipane into the cooled pastry case and push slices of pear into the mixture, rounded side up, making a circular pattern. If using leaves, place these around the top of the tart and wash with egg wash. Bake at 160 ºC for 30–5 minutes or until the filling is set and the pastry a deep golden brown.
To serve, sprinkle liberally with icing sugar and dish-up with ice cream or crème fraiche.