Pear and frangipane tarts

Great pastry and a classic filling... what more could you ask for in these pear and frangipane tarts? A glug of cream maybe and a large spoon!

Pear and frangipane tarts

Preparation time: 25 mins Baking time: 30 mins Makes 6 For the pastry: 250g plain flour 4 tbsp icing sugar 140g unsalted butter 1 egg yolk 1-2 tbsp water For the filling: 125g butter, softened 125g caster sugar 2 eggs 125g ground almonds 50g self raising flour 3 tbsp milk, semi-skimmed 1 x 400g can pears in juice 1 Preheat the oven and a baking tray to 200˚C/Gas mark 6. Sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl. Chop the butter into small pieces and add to the flour along with the egg yolk. Using your fingertips, rub the butter and egg into the flour along with a tbsp of water at a time until you have created a soft dough. Alternatively whizz everything in a food processor. 2 Do not over work the dough. Wrap in clingfilm and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 mins. 3 Roll out the pastry and line 6 x 9cm tartlet tins. Prick the bases with a fork. Set aside for later. 4 To make the frangipane, cream together the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy, this should take at least 5 mins with a standalone mixer or electric hand mixer. Gradually add in the egg, if the mixture curdles slightly add a tbsp of the flour. Gently stir in the remaining flour and ground almonds. Fold in 3 tbsp of semi-skimmed milk, the mixture should have a soft dropping consistency. Transfer this into a piping bag used to fill your tartlet tins with more accuracy. 5 To assemble the dessert, half fill each tartlet case with the frangipane. Finely slice a canned pear halve making sure to keep the fruit together. The pear is then placed on top of the almond mixture in the centre of the tart case. 6 Transfer the tartlets into a preheated oven for 25 mins or until golden and puffy. 7 For a final flourish, if you have a kitchen blowtorch, gently use this to scorch the top of the pear only to create the French patisserie look for your friends and family. These tarts are delicious served with pouring cream or a good quality vanilla ice-cream.