PEAR AND FRANGIPANE PIE

INGREDIENTS

–2 sheets frozen puff pastry (gluten-free, if needed)

– 3 firm pears

– 90g apricot jam

– small handful flaked almonds

– knob of butter or margarine, melted

– sprinkle of caster sugar

– icing sugar, to dust

Frangipane

– 70g butter or margarine, melted

– 110g caster sugar

– 1 tsp grated fresh ginger

– zest of 1/2 lemon

– 1 tsp vanilla extract (or paste or essence)

– 3/4 tsp almond extract

– 175g almond meal

– 55g plain flour (gluten-free, if needed)

– 1/2 tsp baking powder

– pinch of salt

– 60ml (1/4 cup) milk of choice

METHOD

Serves 8

Preheat your oven to 200˚C. Take your puff pastry sheets out of the freezer to thaw, covering in a lightly damp tea towel to prevent cracking.

Make your frangipane by adding the butter, caster sugar, ginger, lemon, vanilla and almond extract to a bowl and whisking until well combined. Add the remaining frangipane ingredients and stir with a spatula until it forms a smooth thick paste.

Once the oven is preheated take a 22-24cm springform cake tin, line the bottom with baking paper and lightly grease the sides. Gently lay one sheet of puff pastry into the bottom of the tin, pressing it flush into the corners. Take the other puff pastry sheet and slice off appropriately sized triangles to fill in the gaps, creating a spiky-edged tart shell with a minimum 2cm-high rim. Adhere the puff pastry triangles onto the existing sheet with a 1cm overlap, pressing down gently to secure. If you have a slightly smaller cake tin on hand, you can place it upside-down inside the shell to support the sides of the puff-pastry case during baking (but this is not essential). Prick the base of the pastry shell all over with a fork, then bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Once the pastry has parbaked remove the tart from the oven and turn it down to 180˚C.

Meanwhile, peel the pears and slice in half, then scoop out the seeds using a small spoon. Trim off the stalk and the calyx (the base tip of the pear), then thinly slice each half while maintaining their shape.

Take the apricot jam and give it a good mix with a spoon (this will make it easier to manipulate) before spreading it over the base of the parbaked tart shell. Add the frangipane mixture on top of the jam and spread it out into an even layer. Arrange the pear halves on top of the frangipane layer. Once you are happy with their placement, submerge the pear halves into the frangipane. It’s OK if the mixture rises higher than the sides of the tart shell – it bakes firm. Brush the pears with some melted butter, sprinkle with caster sugar to help them brown, then sprinkle a handful of flaked almonds over the entire tart. Bake in the 180˚C oven for 40-50 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to touch (it will still have a slight jiggle).

Remove the tart from the tin, transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Dust with icing sugar before serving. Eat within three days.