Pear Tart - an Easy Family Recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Servings

This easy, delicious Pear Tart recipe has been in our family for generations.This store- cupboard special is always a hit!

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

For the pastry:
1¾ cups flour
½ cup butter, cut in small cubes
2 teaspoons sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
For the filling:
2 tablespoons apricot or peach jam
½ cup granulated sugar
1¼ cups ground almonds Ground almonds are also known as almond flour
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
¼ cup butter, melted and cooled a bit
1 tablespoon Amaretto liqueur You can substitute 1 teaspoon almond extract if you prefer
3 tablespoons cream or half and half
2 medium tins of pear halves in juice or syrup, well drained You need about six nice pear halves
1 tablespoon Demerara sugar
2 tablespoons toasted flaked almonds, optional

Preheat the oven to 325℉ or 160℃.
You will need a tart pan or pie dish approximately 8 inches or 20 cm round.
Cut the flour and butter together in a bowl (or use an electric mixer or food processor) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Stir in the sugar.
Gradually add the milk until you have a soft pliable dough that you can make into a large ball. If you want to roll out your pastry, you’ll need to pop it into the fridge to chill for about an hour before rolling. However, I often just press this easy pastry into the tart dish, working it up the edges. Pop the the fridge while you make the filling.
Mix together the sugar, ground almonds, egg and egg yolk, melted butter, cream and the liqueur or almond flavouring until you have a smooth batter.
Get the pastry out of the fridge and using a pastry brush, coat the pastry in the apricot jam. Pour the filling on top of this and spread it evenly to the edges. Arrange the pears on top of this mixture, gently pressing them into it so it comes up round the edges of the pears, but leaves the tops uncovered.
Sprinkle with Demerara sugar and the flaked almonds (if using).
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tart is lightly browned and the filling set.
Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Serve this warm or at room temperature with cream or ice cream.
Best eaten within 24 hours. Do not refrigerate or the crust will go very hard.

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1 large bowl
1 pastry cutter
measuring cups and spoons or a kitchen scale
1 pastry brush
1 wooden spoon
1 8 inch (20 cm) tart pan I use a the pyrex tart dish my late mother-in-law gave me, but you can also use a loose-bottomed tart pan.

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