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Mrs Cook brings the noughties to an end with a fabulous Pear and Almond tart


This rather spectacularly bad year for the world was seen in chez Cook by a small but perfectly formed coterie of close friends; Joel and Nushi, David and Cathy, Jerry and Belle and sons Gus (ours) and Freddie (David and Cathy).
With Jools and his Hootenanny in full swing, Lisa's spectacular dessert made the dawn of next decade suddenly look much more inviting.
The River Cafe's pear and almond tart or Torta di pere e mandorle as it is more correctly, and let's face it, poetically described, is one of those confections that will charm even the most hardened dessert hater .... and this particular tart was up there amongst the finest of its ilk .... ok, just one more slice.

btw a little cheat for the time starved is to buy pre-made sweet pastry ...shhhh don't tell Rose and Ruth


Ingredients

350g plain flour
a pinch of salt
175g unsalted cold butter cut into cubes
100g icing sugar
3 egg yolks


For the filling:

350g unsalted butter softened
350g caster sugar
350g blanched whole almonds
3 eggs
6 ripe Comice pears peeled and halved (Waitrose didn't have Comice pears but Conference seemed to be just fine)



Method

For the sweet pastry pulse the flour salt and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar then the egg yolks and pulse.
The mixture will immediately combine and leave the sides of the bowl.
Remove wrap in cling film and chill for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Coarsely grate the pastry into a 30cm loose bottomed fluted flan tin then press it evenly on to the sides and base.
Bake blind for 20 minutes until very light brown.
Cool and place in the pears face down.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/300F/Gas 3.
For the filling cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and light.
Put the almonds in a food processor and chop until fine.
Add the butter and sugar and blend then beat in the eggs one by one.
Pour over the pears and bake for for 40 minutes.

This Recipe Serves 10 but I guarantee that it will get finished how ever many there are of you
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Comments

Anonymous said…
Oh My god, have you actually made this?

I'd halve the ingredients for the filling. I made these quantities and for a start you can't fit it all in the tin, then it flows over the sides in cooking and burns in the oven. The quantities are completely wrong!
March 19, 2010 at 4:58 PM
Barry said…
Yes we have made it several times it's from the River Cafe blue book.I will go back and check that I have transposed ingredients correctly.
It does have a tendency to spill over a bit and I should have said that we put a baking sheet under the pie to catch the drips....sorry.
March 19, 2010 at 5:07 PM
Barry said…
oh and in case you dont believe me the one we made is the one in the picture
March 19, 2010 at 5:09 PM
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