About the Recipe
This tart makes me dream of being next to a big open fire in Autumn, wrapped up all cosy with a good book, large glass of red and a serving of this tart with vanilla ice-cream or custard. What a lovely indulgent daydream!
Ingredients
Vanilla Almond Pastry
6oz-150g Unsalted Butter (cold & cubed)
10.5oz-300g Plain Flour (sifted)
1 medium Egg Yolk (free-range)
4.2oz-120g Golden Caster Sugar
1 tablespoon Almond Extract
1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1.4oz-40g Ground Almonds
4 tablespoons Cold Water
Poached Pears
24.6oz-700g Conference Pears (peeled & cubed)
75cl (bottle) Red Fruity Wine
Zest of 1 Lemon
8.4oz-240g Caster Sugar
2x Cinnamon Sticks
1x Star Anise
1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
6x Cloves (whole)
8.4 fl oz-250ml Water
Cinnamon Crumble
7oz-200g Plain Flour (sifted)
2.6oz-75g Caster Sugar
1 tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
4.2oz-120g Unsalted Butter
Preparation
Start by preparing the poached pears (3 days in advance). Place all the poached pear ingredients into a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat and simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes
Spoon out the diced pear into a plastic box that has a lid available
Strain the wine on top of the pears, filtering out the spices and zest and set to one side to cool completely
Once completely cooled, attach the lid and pop in the fridge for 2-3 days
When ready to prepare the tart, continue by making the pastry
In a large mixing bowl add the cold butter and flour. Use a stand mixer with beater on low setting for 2 minutes or use your fingers and thumb to rub together until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If doing this manually, take your time to get the effect and be patient
Add the sugar & ground almonds and mix through
Add the vanilla and almond extract along with the egg yolk and water and stir through with a knife before continuing to knead together with your hands
When thoroughly combined, roll into a smooth ball and wrap in cling-film. Pop in the fridge for one hour
When the hour is up, pre-heat oven to 392˚f/200˚c regular oven or 356˚f /180˚c fan assisted oven
Grease a fluted tart tin (or loose bottomed flan tin) and set to one side. Flour a surface and the rolling pan and roll out the pastry mix evenly and thin. Transfer the sheet of pasty to the tin and press into the grooves and base. Prick the base several times with a fork
Place a circle of baking paper on top of the base of the tart. Pour in baking beads (or rice if you don't have any) and pop into the oven on top of a baking tray for 20 minutes
When time is up, remove the beads/rice and paper and pop back into the oven for a further 10 minutes
Remove the tart and set to one side,. Decrease the oven temperature to 284˚f/160˚c regular oven or ˚f /140˚c fan assisted oven
Drain the pears and pop into the pastry case and set to one side whilst you make the crumble topping
In a large mixing bowl, using your fingers, crumble together the flour and butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs- like you did for the pastry.
Add the sugar and cinnamon and stir through. Spoon the crumble over the top of the pears so it is completely covered
Pop the tart into the oven for 45 minutes
Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before fully removing from the tin
Best served with cream, custard or ice-cream. Can be eaten hot or cold