Pear and Almond tart

Ingredients

(Serves 8)

For the pastry:

• 225g plain flour
• 100g butter
• 25g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• Milk to bind mix

For the almond filling:

• 225g butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 175g ground almonds
• 50g plain flour
• Lemon zest

For the pears:

• 4 pears
• 100g butter
• 75g caster sugar

Method

• Preheat the oven to 160C.
• For the pastry, place all the ingredients into a food processor using milk to bind the mix and make a soft dough. Remove from the food processor and wrap in clingfilm, placing in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Next, roll out the pastry and place in a greased 20cm tart tin. Cover the pastry with greaseproof paper, pressing it into the tin and adding baking beans to weigh the paper down.
• Bake for 15 minutes and then remove beans and paper and bake for a further five minutes until crisp and dry. Take out of the oven and leave to the side for 20 minutes before filling.
• To prepare the filling, cream the butter and sugar and add the eggs one at a time. Now, add in the flour and almonds, finishing with the lemon zest.
• For the pears, peel, de-core and cut into lengths and gently fry in butter and sugar until soft. Once cooked, remove from the pan, spread the almond filling into the pastry case and place the pears flat side down into the filling surface. Bake for 45 minutes at 160C until the filling is set. Best served with a chocolate sauce.