A Pear Tart From A Pear Tree

The harvest season has almost passed us by, and apart from the root vegetables still snug in their clay beds and the wintering cabbages which are in their youth, the poly-tunnel has pretty much given up its goods.
The bean plants which have dropped most of their leaves are beginning to shrivel but there is still the odd bean hanging around here and there, the tomato plants which eventually turned into a jungle, are still laden with fruit but it looks like we will be having fried green tomatoes or green tomato salsa as there ain't no way on earth they are going to ripen at this point!.

Elderberries

We have reached the end of our growing season so now we will be concentrating on preserving as much as we can to enjoy during the dark winter months. Apples have been made into pies and frozen, spiced apple chutneys, apple sauce, and apple jellies have been bottled, jams have been made, pears have been 'put up' as they say in the preserving community, and the other day I noticed the elderberry bushes are heavily laden, their fruits just ripe for the picking, so that will be my next project.....I feel elderberry cordial or ice-cream coming on.

Even if you have no growing space and have to get your fruit from the supermarket, it is a great idea to have some preserved fruits on hand, be they bottled as jams, frozen 'au naturel', cooked in syrup or even preserved in alcohol...bottles of which make great christmas gifts by the way......have you ever had peaches in brandy?  hashtag YUM!
Make the most of those 49p or 49c supermarket offers when you get them. If you see pears or apples, or any other sturdy fruit, and I do see them on offer quite frequently where you can get about 6 pieces of fruit in a punnet or a bag for 49p, then make the most of these offers by buying in bulk and doing something with them......no one said you were only allowed to eat them fresh from the fruit bowl!

These pear tarts are easy to whip up for dessert or just as a nice treat for afternoon tea if you have guests.
Feel free to make them as individuals, you should get 6 to 8 little tarts from this recipe, or make a large one about 7 - 8 inches which should give you 8 - 10 portions.
The pears, when fresh, were peeled, halved, placed in a deep dish, a light sugar and ginger syrup poured over the top, the dish covered with a sheet of parchment then sealed with tin foil, and the pears allowed to steam gently in the oven at 160oC for 30 minutes. When cooked, the pears went in to sterilised jars while still hot and the cooking juice poured over, the jars were sealed with a screw lid, and when cooled were stored away for future use.....see...... delicious pears all year round and better than any tinned one!

The tarts have a pastry based filled with frangipan which is a very light almond sponge effort, the frangipan is then topped with slices of poached pear, after baking we glaze the tarts with a little warmed jam to make them lovely and shiny

So for the Pear Tarts you will need.....

1 batch of my Sweet, Sweet Pastry...recipe HERE!  or you can use a sheet of shop bought, pre-rolled sweet or plain shortcrust pastry for convenience
a little soft butter for greasing your moulds/tins
half a poached pear for each tart
a little clear apricot jam or clear orange marmalade or clear honey

for the frangipan.....

100 g soft unsalted butter
100 g castor sugar...golden if you have it
50 g ground almonds
50 g plain flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract

How to....

frangipan is made exactly the same way as a Madeira sponge

• drain the pears and pat dry a little with some kitchen paper
• for the frangipan...cream the butter and castor sugar until light and fluffy
• beat the egg and add to the butter and sugar, mix very well
• sieve the flour then add the almonds making sure there are no lumps
• add the flour etc. to the egg and butter, mix well again
• add the almond extract and give a final mix, scrape down your bowl and mix once more
• butter the tart moulds with a little softened butter
• roll out the pastry quite thin and cut out circles with a plain or fluted cutter the same width as each mould
• line each mould with a pastry circle pressing the pastry lightly into the mould all the way round with the tip of your thumb, cut away any excess from the edges of the mould to give a neat edge
• place a tablespoon of frangipan in each pastry case....don't be tempted to add more as the frangipan will puff up when baking and overflow the pastry case 
• slice each pear half and arrange the slices on top of the frangipan
• bake your tarts in a pre-heated oven 180oC until well risen and golden brown...by the time the frangipan is golden the pastry case will be cooked through and crisp underneath

When the tarts have cooled you can heat a couple tablespoons of apricot jam/marmalade or honey in the microwave or small sauce pan, when it comes to the boil, remove from the heat and brush the top of your tarts with the hot jam. When the jam has set it gives a lovely shine to the fruit and sponge.

Some people like to spread some raspberry jam on the pastry base before adding the frangipan but I prefer it this way. You can also do it upside down and place the pears on the pastry, top with the frangipan, scatter with some flaked almonds, bake and leave it unglazed...the choice is yours...try with other fruits too...it's delicious with fresh cherries or even glace cherries.