hazelnut & pear tart

served this little guy with a honey semifreddo.

pastry

recipe from elements of desserts

120g butter, softened

90g icing sugar

18g almond flour

1 egg

pinch of salt

73g flour

175g cake/pastry flour

hazelnut frangipane

150g butter, softened

150g sugar

2 eggs

130g ground hazelnuts

20g ground almonds

20g flour

capful of vanilla extract

pears

2 bartley pears

2 tbsp sugar

1 vanilla bean

4-5 tbsp raspberry jam

pastry

preheat the oven to 350F. place 4 4inch tart rings on a baking tray with parchment paper.

in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, almond flour, and salt until light and fluffy, beat in the egg. then sift together the flour and cake flour, add the flour mixture to the bowl, beat on low until a dough form and there are no dry patches.

wrap the dough in cling film, chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.

place a large piece of parchment paper on your work surface (this helps prevent sticking), roll the dough out to your desired thickness, cut out 4 6-7inch circles, and carefully press your circles into the tart rings, trim off any overhanging dough. chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

cut off 4 large pieces of cling film, place one on each of your tart shells, fill with baking beans (to make a little pouch), bake for 12 minutes, remove the baking bean pouches (you can reuse these) and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until golden.

* cling film has a weirdly high baking temperature.

hazelnut frangipane

combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a wooden spoon beat together until light and fluffy.

add in the eggs one at a time, beat until all combined, then mix in the ground hazelnuts, almonds, flour, and vanilla extract until a batter forms.

preheat the oven to 350F.

spread about a tbsp of jam into the bottom of each tart, then fill the rest of the tart case with the frangipane, level out the top to create a smooth layer. bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and set. let cool.

pears

cut the pears into thin slices, place them in a bowl filled with cold water and 2-3 tbsp lemon juice (to prevent them from going brown).

Scrape the vanilla's insides out of the pod, place in a small bowl with the sugar then add the drained pears, massage everything together just using your hands.

place the pears on top of your cool tart:)