I made this tart using pears from the pear tree in our garden. As usual for conference pears, they were rock hard when I brought them in, so I peeled them and poached them in simmering water for around 15 minutes to soften them. If the pears you have are hard like this, then you will need to do the same. Or you could use tinned pears. Make sure you dab the pears with some kitchen roll or a clean towel, so take off any excess moisture.
I considered poaching them with a cinnamon stick and cloves, to give them some flavour, but I thought there was enough flavour going on in this tart.
If you are making your own caramel, you will find a recipe for that on my website.
Ingredients:
Pastry:
175g plain flour
75g butter
25g icing sugar
1 large egg
Filling:
150g margarine
150g white sugar
3 eggs
120g ground almonds
60g plain flour
3 tablespoons caramel
Teaspoon sea salt
5 conference pears
This recipe is just enough for a 10 inch/23cm tin. Grease the tin with lots of butter, all over the bottom and up the sides.
To make the pastry, make sure the butter is nice and soft, so it will mix easily, and rub it into the flour and icing sugar until it starts to look like breadcrumbs. You can use your fingers or the mixer for this. Then use the bread hook on your mixer or a large spoon to add the egg and bring the mixture together to a dough. Stop mixing as soon as it all comes together.
Roll the dough onto a surface that has been sprinkled with flour, to stop it from sticking, until it is large enough to fit into your baking tin. Carefully lift it into the tin and pinch it into the sides with your fingers. Cut any excess from the edges with a knife, then put the tin into the freezer for 10 minutes to chill.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees/160 degrees fan or gas mark 4 while you make the frangipane filling.
Whisk the margarine and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Then whisk in the eggs, followed by the ground almonds and flour. Put it to one side for now.
When the pastry has cooled in the freezer, layer 3 tablespoons of caramel across the bottom of the pastry and then sprinkle the caramel with the sea salt. Finely slice the pears and arrange 4 of them over the salted caramel layer. Spoon the frangipane mixture carefully over the pears, except for 3 large spoonfuls, and spread the mixture to the edges of the baking tin. Then place the final pear slices over the frangipane in the middle of the baking tin and spoon the final bit of the frangipane over the second layer of pears, spreading it thinly so that some of the pears peep through the mixture.
When the tart is cooked, you want to be able to see bits from some of the pears, but if you leave them completely uncovered, they might burn or go dry.
Bake in the oven for 35 – 40 minutes. It will be ready when the middle of the tart is no longer wobbly. Serve with ice cream or just on its own with a brew.
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