2012 Cooking Club Week 26: Pear, Almond and Toffee Tart

This is a tart that my wife bakes for occasions. The reason for the delay is that I needed to get her to make one to get some photos. My original idea was a cold curried chicken for salads but we havent made that either and there has been a great selection of curried related recipes here anyway.

This really is a nice tart and is worth the effort. I am not a major tart / desert person but this always does the trick. It is very popular with friends etc. The recipe is based on a recipe from the book from Roly's Bistro and that is the same book that we got the recipe for my cookery club submission last year. Yes, we have lots of other books but that one is probably the one we have got most use out of over the years.

The recipe has 3 parts: Pastry Base, Toffee & Frangipane followed by a glaze at the end.

You will need:
185g butter
70g icing sugar
2 medium sized eggs
320g cream flour
(The following ingredients are for the Frangipane)
125g unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
3 whole eggs, medium sized
120g ground almonds
25g self-raising flour
½ teaspoon almond essence
20g chopped almonds

To make the Almond Tart:
Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixer. Add eggs gradually for 2 minutes, then flour. When a pale yellow dough has formed, stop machine, wrap pastry in cling film and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Line a deep 20.5cm circular flan dish or tin with the pastry.


By agorm1 at 2012-07-01

To make the Toffee:
Submerge a tin of condensed milk in a pot full of water and boil for 3 hours. (Ensure you keep it covered as pressure can build up in the can!) Allow to cool overnight. Open the tin and spread a good layer on to the base of the pastry and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Alternatively, use a tin of Nestle caramel - no need to boil etc.

By agorm1 at 2012-07-01


To make the Frangipane:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit/ Gas mark 4. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs and essence and stir in all the dry ingredients until you have a heavy paste. Spread frangipane on top of the toffee, filling the tart about three-quarters of the way up the pastry.

By agorm1 at 2012-07-01

Evenly distribute the pears on top of the tart and bake for 55-60 minutes.


By agorm1 at 2012-07-01

Remove the tart from the oven and spread immediately with the hot glaze. The hot glaze is made by mixing together 100g of apricot jam with 30g of water heated in microwave & spread with pastry brush.


By agorm1 at 2012-07-01

The tart can be served with cream, vanilla ice-cream or simply enjoyed on its own.

By agorm1 at 2012-07-01